Remedy to Diabetes Distress (R2D2): A Scalable Screen to Treat Program for School-age Families

Only 22% of school-age children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) achieve an HbA1c of <7.5% while the majority of school-age children who exceed this target are at higher risk for T1D-related complications. Achieving optimal T1D self-care is the only direct pathway to better HbA1c and even with the addition of modern therapeutic modalities (e.g., hybrid closed loop), it is a complex, time-consuming, and relentless task. School-age children cannot effectively manage T1D alone and require help from their parents to participate in daily T1D self-care. The research suggests that both parents and youth with T1D are vulnerable to Diabetes Distress (DD) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Standards of Care recommend ongoing assessment of DD in youth (starting at 7-8-years-old) and their caregiver during routine diabetes clinic visits. Unfortunately, while DD screening may be an ADA Care Standard, there are no practical treatment options for clinics to adopt to treat DD in school-age families in the case of positive screens. The researchers submit this new R01 in response to RFA-DK-19-021, Treating Diabetes Distress to Improve Glycemic Outcomes in Type 1 Diabetes. Our objective is to test the feasibility and acceptability of a novel, practical, and potentially scalable screen to treat program for DD in families of school-age children with T1D (called Remedy to Diabetes Distress [R2D2]) and to test the initial efficacy of R2D2 to reduce DD to improve children's glycemic control. To enhance scientific rigor, the researchers plan to use the ORBIT model for behavioral intervention development to guide the study design. The specific aims are: 1) Define feasibility and acceptability of our new screen to treat program (R2D2) for DD in school-age families, and 2) Establish initial efficacy of R2D2 to reduce parent and child DD to improve child glycemic control. The researchers propose to address these Aims through an iterative process and multiple projects to complete the necessary formative research to design, build, and prepare to implement R2D2. The researchers then propose to complete a Pilot randomized controlled trial of their R2D2 screen to treat program, testing for its initial efficacy based on child HbA1c and time in range (primary outcomes) and parent and child DD and resilience, and T1D self-care (secondary outcomes; Phase 2b: Pilot, n=180). The impact of the proposed R01 is high because it addresses a critical need for practical and evidence-based solutions for screening and treating DD in families of school-age children, heretofore an understudied patient subgroup. The researchers believe our study optimally responds to the FOA because the research team is multidisciplinary (anchored by a partnership between behavioral science and diabetology), and their R2D2 screen to treat program reflects a practical team approach that can realistically occur in clinic and scale to other centers.

Inclusion criteria

• child age between 8-12 years, physician confirmed T1D diagnosis,
• either the child or the parent or both the child and parent report diabetes distress levels at or above clinical cut-points,
• child is on an intensive insulin regimen (pump or MDI).

Exclusion criteria

• children on a conventional insulin regimen, children and/or parents who do not report diabetes distress levels at or above the clinical cut-points,
• children who have an allergy or sensitivity to the adhesive and/or skin preparation used for CGM, children with a comorbid chronic condition (e.g., renal disease),
• children and parents who do not speak English.