Blended lifestyle care for people with type-2 diabetes

Diablend: Blended lifestyle care for diabetes remission

In DIABLEND, we aimed to develop and beta-test an integrated approach for personalised lifestyle optimisation in people with T2D in two deprived neighborhoods in The Hague: Schilderwijk and Bouwlust-Vrederust.

In WP1 as a first step a needs-assessment was conducted amongst patients and health care providers. We learned that access to reliable and accessible information is very important, as well as insight into cultural aspects of eating and exercise and a digital lifestyle map was created, providing an overview of different local lifestyle initiatives. In WP2 the Diabetes Remission Framework (DRF) was developed to support patients and healthcare professionals to choose an appropriate lifestyle intervention. It consists of a shared decision tool (TNO 360 tool) with a lifestyle intervention menu. The online tool was developed specifically for use in the two neighborhoods, and consists of about 80 local, national, online and offline lifestyle interventions. In WP3 the diabox was created. The diabox contains a blood pressure device, a simple sports watch and an analog glucose meter with several assignments (e.g. measure your blood glucose before and after a healthy meal). It became apparent that there is a support base for implementing eHealth (WP1), as long as it is cheap, safe, easy to use and available in different languages. In WP4 (elements of the) DRF and Diabox were beta-tested in several small user groups, with the help of group-consultations for patients with pre-diabetes, organized by a GP in the neighborhood. This resulted in an insight into the feasibility, usability and acceptance of the approach. WP5 focused on the living environment. Through design sprint session with various stakeholders an action plan was developed focusing on i) inclusive squares & the healthy route, and ii) and online platform for lifestyle interventions. The action plan can be found here: Een gezonde leefstijl, door een gezonde leefomgeving in Den Haag. The lessons learnt and output from DIABLEND were be disseminated (WP6) through the Lifestyle4Health platform.

Summary

In DIABLEND we focussed on personalised lifestyle optimisation for people with type-2 diabetes in The Hague, starting in two deprived neighborhoods in The Hague: Schilderswijk and Bouwlust-Vrederust. For this we discussed with various stakeholders through interviews and design sprint sessions what is needed to implement lifestyle changes and we tailored the TNO shared decision 360°-diagnosis tool to the two neighborhoods. The tool and the Diablend approach was tested together with patients and first insights into the feasibility, usability and acceptance were gathered. Some target group adjustments need to be taken (e.g. length of the questionnaire, availability of the questionnaire in different languages) to improve the implementation targets. Furthermore, the living environment was taken into account. It is still overlooked as an aspect to improve health. The main recommendation is to employ a bridge builder (‘aanjager’) to connect the various stakeholders in the neighborhoods to ensure a healthy society.

Technology Readiness Level (TRL)

5 - 6

Time period

18 months

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