Evaluation of an online social learning environment in type 1 diabetes self-management education

ABSTRACT

Aims: Self-management education is an essential component of type 1 diabetes care which improves health outcomes. Online mediums of education delivery are growing in popularity, offering a flexible alternative to traditional group education. Interest in online education has increased as healthcare restructuring secondary to covid-19 has restricted face-to- face offerings. We delivered and evaluated a free open online course in type 1 diabetes self-management education. Methods: Understanding type 1 diabetes was a free open online course accessible via registration on an online platform. The course was delivered over a 2-day period in December 2020 and focused on key self-management concepts featuring videos, quizzes and moderated comment sections accompanied by a daily live Q&A session. The course was evaluated via a post-course questionnaire to establish user feedback and experience. Results: 216 users started the course, with 106 users completing >75% of the course steps (completion rate 49.1%). Among the 103 users who completed the optional post-course questionnaire, 69 had type 1 diabetes and 21 were healthcare professionals. Most users agreed that the course was easy to follow (95.1%), improved their knowledge of diabetes (76.2%), motivated them to manage their diabetes (79.7%) and improved their self-management confidence (79.4%). Thematic analysis of free-text responses identified appreciation of the peer-learning environment provided with minimal technical difficulties experienced. Conclusions: Open online courses offer a remotely accessible, engaging and scalable method of self-management education delivery that motivated and improved the self-management confidence of their user base.