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Take part in a 10-minute survey about how much insulin type 1 diabetics use.

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Diabetes Survey

Diabetes Survey

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HCP/Researcher
Researchers from the University of Essex are carrying out a survey about insulin use in Type 1 diabetes patients in the UK (using insulin pens).

Knowing how often and what types of insulin are typically used is a frequently asked question on forums. Help us to find a detailed answer. Once sufficient participants have submitted their answers (which remain confidential), we will summarise our findings on this forum so you find out more about this topic directly from us!

Of course, the answers to these questions depend on many factors, as every patient is different. We take this into account. We can try to better understand which factors (such as lifestyle) influence how much insulin is needed and how to best distribute this over the day.

Please help us with our study by filling in the online questionnaire. It takes around 10 minutes to complete. More information about the survey can be found when you click the link.

The link to the University of Essex diabetes survey is here: https://www.psytoolkit.org/c/3.2.0/survey?s=RcVBd

Has been approved by @Josh DUK
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Done.... Oddly when I completed the questionnaire and closed it, it took me to "the other" (red) diabetes website!!
 
This has been approved. Please help if you can.
 
I didn't at first realise they weren't asking pumpers, only T1 using MDI - but anyway decided to have a look at it, so started answering questions as if I was still using MDI. Doesn't want you to say you're retired - so you have to answer 'None of the above'. Dietary questions are a bit definite the least times you can eat anything on the list is 1-2 times a week or never. Hence if everyone's like me they'll say they never eat white or oily fish - which is a lie. I just don't eat fish of any kind once a week is all. Accordingly I apparently never eat cake either, or biscuits or sweets. So I answered the alcohol & smoking question then clicked to go on the next page, but it wouldn't let me.

Is there something 'not right' about it?
 
Yes, I found it was very much a best fit rather than an accurate portrayal of my eating habits. Multi choice is almost always going to be like that though. Like you, Jenny, I don't eat a lot of fish but maybe once a fortnight so it was a case of check the once a week or never box.
I also thought the question about hypos and hypers was a bit unrealistic. There are not many days when my readings don't stray slightly below 4 or above 10. They might only be just below or just above (on the Libre) but being honest made it look like I have bad control when I don't, so I felt there was a lack of appreciation for how likely it is for these minor blips to happen regularly. It might have just been my interpretation but again I felt the choices were too limited and perhaps made things look worse than they are.
 
rebrascora said:
Done.... Oddly when I completed the questionnaire and closed it, it took me to "the other" (red) diabetes website!!
Click to expand...
How odd, I was taken to the University of Essex website, which seemed logical. I also noticed there was a link on the last page to us, diabetes.org helpline if you needed it.
I agree, I had to do a ‘best fit' and there is a huge difference between being slightly over the 10, and being sky high.
 
I also found filling in the food choices difficult, maybe it’s just because I was on an ipad, but when I clicked on a box, a little drop down appeared, telling me what I'd clicked, and I couldn’t get rid of it. And half the time, it was covering up the next box I wanted to click on. I had to skip a couple of lines and answer a lower question, then go back up when the drop down had cleared.
 
Not giving an option between "once or twice a week" and "never" is a fundamental flaw, I think. How many others apparently "never" eat chips?😉
 
Me.... I don't eat chips anymore ( OK I maybe pinch a couple of my partner's once a month at most) although I am going to try celeriac chips at some point.... do they still count as chips for the purposes of the survey.

"Infrequently/never" might have been a better option.
 
Statistics GCSE when constructing multiple choice questions ensure that there are no gaps and no overlaps. In this survey there seem to be a few gaps.
 
We did our best to create this survey to the best standards and have used existing surveys and survey techniques.
So far, only 21 people have completed it.
We would really appreciate it if those who would to help to fill it in, it takes only 10 minutes, it has been approved by the Essex University ethics committee and by the Forum maintainers as well. We will definitely feedback, but need more participants to make this a meaningful dataset. Please help:

Link to the University of Essex Diabetes survey
 
I filled it in but I was unable to do so accurately due to the inappropriate options to tick. I got the impression that whoever wrote it certainly didn’t have diabetes so why not check it first with the real experts on a forum like this one?
 
Sorry to hear that Annemarie, can you
Annemarie said:
I filled it in but I was unable to do so accurately due to the inappropriate options to tick. I got the impression that whoever wrote it certainly didn’t have diabetes so why not check it first with the real experts on a forum like this one?
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Thank you so much for helping with this survey, that is very much appreciated 🙂

Sorry to hear that Annemarie, can you maybe clarify where you had an issue? The survey is indeed created by a team a at the university of Essex, including type 1 diabetics. The survey was carefully designed, but sometimes people's experience may vary. An email is provided on the website, and if you have time, feel free to write us or reply here.
 
It doesn't apply to anyone retired, or anyone using a pump, but it doesn't allow you to ignore the questions which don't apply - and I'm not going to lie, so forget it.
 
Diabetes Survey said:
Sorry to hear that Annemarie, can you

Thank you so much for helping with this survey, that is very much appreciated 🙂

Sorry to hear that Annemarie, can you maybe clarify where you had an issue? The survey is indeed created by a team a at the university of Essex, including type 1 diabetics. The survey was carefully designed, but sometimes people's experience may vary. An email is provided on the website, and if you have time, feel free to write us or reply here.
Click to expand...
I can’t remember exactly but several questions left me without an appropriate option. I’m retired too so as @trophywench pointed out that could be one reason
 
As a Type 2 (but on insulin) I am not eligible, but ticked the option to say just trying it out at the end, which I appreciated.

I did not have a problem with being retired - just ticked "unemployed but not seeking work", but I can see that some would prefer to answer retired, as unemployment carries negative connotations.

The main problem with the options is as described above by many. There are gaps - as another ex-teacher of Maths/Statistics that annoys me! We used to stress that everyone should be able to tick one option (and only one) without lying or going ibble-dibble! The big hole is between 1-2 times a week and never - there are many items I eat 1-2 times a month or even just a few times a year. Not true to say I never eat them, but 1-2 times a week is a massive overestimation.

I had a similar issue with when I take my fast acting insulin, as the earliest option was at breakfast. I regularly take insulin upon waking to deal with the DP or foot on floor effect - not really a correction as the rise hasn't yet happened. I may not eat for some hours after this. For breakfast I need to inject 1 - 1.5 hours ahead of eating, so hardly "at breakfast". I appreciate that as a T2 I may need to prebolus rather earlier than many T1s, but many of them report bolusing well before a meal, especially at breakfast.

I would be worried about the reliance you place upon the results you get with so many people having problems answering accurately.
 
silentsquirrel said:
As a Type 2 (but on insulin) I am not eligible, but ticked the option to say just trying it out at the end, which I appreciated.

I did not have a problem with being retired - just ticked "unemployed but not seeking work", but I can see that some would prefer to answer retired, as unemployment carries negative connotations.

The main problem with the options is as described above by many. There are gaps - as another ex-teacher of Maths/Statistics that annoys me! We used to stress that everyone should be able to tick one option (and only one) without lying or going ibble-dibble! The big hole is between 1-2 times a week and never - there are many items I eat 1-2 times a month or even just a few times a year. Not true to say I never eat them, but 1-2 times a week is a massive overestimation.

I had a similar issue with when I take my fast acting insulin, as the earliest option was at breakfast. I regularly take insulin upon waking to deal with the DP or foot on floor effect - not really a correction as the rise hasn't yet happened. I may not eat for some hours after this. For breakfast I need to inject 1 - 1.5 hours ahead of eating, so hardly "at breakfast". I appreciate that as a T2 I may need to prebolus rather earlier than many T1s, but many of them report bolusing well before a meal, especially at breakfast.

I would be worried about the reliance you place upon the results you get with so many people having problems answering accurately.
Click to expand...
I agree that retired would be good to add. The main point of the question is to get a sense of people's daily commitments and possibly physical activity, and in that sense, the options help. I can understand where you come from, but it is fully anonymous.

Sure, the early morning rise in blood glucose is an issue. The early morning effect is an issue that does not neatly in, I agree. But one of the aims is to get a broader sense of how people distribute injections over the day, and for that the survey does a good job, although in future, this can be improved -- it is the comments that you make that are really helpful for us to improve on this.

Link to survey
 
trophywench said:
It doesn't apply to anyone retired, or anyone using a pump, but it doesn't allow you to ignore the questions which don't apply - and I'm not going to lie, so forget it.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your feedback. Anyone can look at the survey, but it is aimed at people with Type 1 who use insulin pen(s). If you are retired, the category would be unemployed not seeking work (combined with age, it is clear to the researchers who is most likely retired). Anyway, thanks for taking the time to look at it, much appreciated.

Link to survey
 
Can I take the survey a second time as my diabetes routine has changed since I first did it I think? .... diabetes being what it is with constantly changing goalposts. It would provide a second set of data for you and both would be equally valid in my opinion as my first set of data likely no longer reflects my current injection regime.
 
rebrascora said:
Can I take the survey a second time as my diabetes routine has changed since I first did it I think? .... diabetes being what it is with constantly changing goalposts. It would provide a second set of data for you and both would be equally valid in my opinion as my first set of data likely no longer reflects my current injection regime.
Click to expand...
Hi Barbara, thank you for asking. Yes, that is okay.
 
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