Psychosocial Impact of the Bionic Pancreas during Summer Camp

Abstract

Background: The psychosocial impact of the bionic pancreas (BP) was assessed among children attending diabetes camp. Methods: Nineteen children were randomly assigned for 5 days to the BP condition and 5 days to the control condition in a crossover design. Results: Significant reductions in hypoglycemic fear and regimen burden were found. Children felt less burdened or worried about diabetes and felt freer to do things they enjoyed while using the BP. Children wished the BP responded to out of range numbers faster and expressed annoyance about carrying around the necessary equipment. Conclusions: Children may experience improved psychosocial outcomes following use of BP while expressing key areas of user concern. Future studies in less controlled environments with larger sample sizes can determine if these findings are generalizable to other groups.