title: Impact of information technology on the therapy of type-1 diabetes: a case study of children and adolescents in Germany.
abstract: Being able to manage and adjust insulin doses is a key part of managing type-1 diabetes. Children and adolescents with type-1 diabetes mellitus often have serious difficulties with this dosage adjustment. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the impact of using novel mobile, web and communication technologies in assisting their therapy and treatment. A trial was conducted in the north-eastern part of Germany to evaluate the impact of the "Mobil Diab", a mobile diabetes management system, on the clinical outcome. 68 subjects aged between 8 and 18 years, divided randomly into control and intervention groups, were included into the study. Metrics such as changes in the quality of metabolic control, changes in psychological parameters, usability and acceptance of the technology were used for evaluation purpose. Metabolic control was mainly assessed by the mean HbAlc. Analysis showed a good acceptance of the proposed system. An overall improvement in mean levels of HbA1c was observed, however further studies will be conducted to prove evidence of the weight and BMI improvements. Moreover, initial indications of positive impact on the improvement in psychological parameters were presumed based on the result of the conducted study. The system appeared to be an efficient and time saving tool in diabetes management.
authors.affiliation: Infokom GmbH, Neubrandenburg 17034, Germany. rberndt@infokom.de.
authors.forename: Rolf-Dietrich
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Berndt
authors.affiliation: Infokom GmbH, Neubrandenburg 17034, Germany. ctakenga@infokom.de.
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Takenga
authors.affiliation: Infokom GmbH, Neubrandenburg 17034, Germany. ppreik@infokom.de.
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Preik
authors.affiliation: Infokom GmbH, Neubrandenburg 17034, Germany. skuehn@infokom.de.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kuehn
authors.affiliation: Infokom GmbH, Neubrandenburg 17034, Germany. lberndt@infokom.de.
authors.forename: Luise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Berndt
authors.affiliation: Department for Health Care Sciences, University of Applied Sciences, Rheine 48431, Germany. he.mayer@mhrheine.de.
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.affiliation: Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, MEDIGREIF-Inselklinik Heringsdorf GmbH, Heringsdorf 17424, Germany. alexander_kaps@yahoo.de.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaps
authors.affiliation: Department for Health Care Sciences, University of Applied Sciences, Rheine 48431, Germany. alexander_kaps@yahoo.de.
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schiel