I'm Not Diabetic, I Have Diabetes: Creating an eBook for Pediatric Diabetes Education

Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) can be particularly overwhelming for a young child whose world has just been turned upside down following diagnosis. The child experiences a myriad of emotions and at some point must accept the disease and its management. If not well controlled throughout the child's life diabetes will result in complications, which may negatively affect the child as well as society at large. Young diabetic children require an educational tool that will capture and keep their interest, while enhancing their understanding of T1DM care with the intent of building independence as they learn to manage their T1DM. Appropriate and engaging education material is necessary for any diabetes care regimen. Informal means of education, such as comic books, video games, and eBooks, are gaining traction as viable delivery methods for patient education. Despite this trend, a review of current eBook material revealed very few pediatric-oriented eBooks and of those available, all required the purchase of the product in order to read it. The objectives of this project are the following: (1) to create and publish a developmentally appropriate and entertaining diabetes educational story in electronic format to enhance diabetes self-care education, (2) to promote an accessible and relevant diabetes electronic educational medium targeting mid- to late school-age children, (3) to increase engagement with and relevancy of diabetes education in the targeted population, and (4) to disseminate findings to peers and other healthcare professionals. Bandura's Social Learning Theory provides the theoretical framework for the design and implementation of this project. Evaluation of this project was accomplished through content expert review and approval, publication of the eBook, Davy's Diabetes, to the Apple iBookstore as a free download on the iPad as well as the Foundation for Children and Youth with Diabetes (FCYD) website. To elicit feedback from readers, a hyperlink was provided at the conclusion of the story through which they accessed a brief online questionnaire to evaluate the eBook on its appropriateness as an educational vehicle. Outcomes of the project were presented in a professional peer forum. Relevant T1DM education is a key to effective self-management and euglycemia. The use of digital media including an eBook to teach, engage, and instruct can be a very beneficial form of education. Providing motivation for successful self-management by helping children understand what they can rather than cannot do is also important. The eBook Davy's Diabetes will remain available for download on the Apple iPad as well as the FCYD website. It is hoped that the simple, yet important principles taught by Davy's Diabetes will aid readers as they continue to learn about and care for their T1DM, a life-long process