Designing for type 1 diabetes: Investigating adolescents’ experiences and their psychosocial user requirements of medical technologies

Description

“Dear insulin pump. I love that you came into my life! You give me flexibility, confidence, and happiness.”

“Dear my very problematic blood glucose meter. I wish I could let you go. I don't ask much from you, just correct readings and that you stop deciding to pack it in. You make me second guess myself and my health.”

The difference between a loved and a despised medical device is stark. Adolescents with type 1 diabetes require medical devices that facilitate their self-management throughout every aspect of their lives, from school, to the sports field, to managing hypoglycaemia in the middle of the night. This seminar focuses on recently completed PhD research which aimed to describe adolescents’ experiences self-managing type 1 diabetes, and to identify their psychosocial user requirements of medical technologies. A range of qualitative and participatory design methods were used to uncover psychosocial impacts of medical devices, adolescents’ metaphors for managing diabetes, the best and worst features of medical devices, and to develop prototypes of medical technologies that better meet adolescents’ requirements. Adolescents’ experiences were analysed using a constructivist approach to grounded theory, and psychosocial user requirements were developed. While it is pertinent that diabetes technologies are clinically effective, designers should take into account not only physical health, but also the ways and contexts in which adolescents go about their daily lives.