Specialist programme aims to improve support for university students living with type 1 diabetes
Award-winning programme available to universities to offer students support in living independently with type 1 diabetes.
A programme offering diabetes care and support for university students aims to ensure students experience a coordinated and easily accessible diabetes service on campus.
The ADAPT programme was launched for university students with type 1 diabetes in collaboration between NHS primary care, universities and specialist diabetes care.
The aim of the programme is to help students live independently with diabetes, make university life easier and improve diabetes self-management. At the same time, universities involved will also be supported to become more diabetes aware.
The service runs monthly diabetes clinics and invites a specialist diabetes team and academic staff for pastoral care, a group lunch and diabetes education in both the clinic and lecture halls.
This has increased patient engagement and physical and mental wellbeing.
Since starting at the University of Essex the programme is expanding in the UK and has been disseminated internationally.
Key features of the ADAPT approach for supporting students with type 1 diabetes include:
- Age-appropriate interaction with emerging adults
- Diabetes education on campus
- Academic support in line with challenges of living with diabetes
- Psychological support
- Togetherness of different teams and students with diabetes
In a report for The Lancet the ADAPT team said: “Using prevalence data from the UK,1 we estimate that there are more than 10,000 university students with type 1 diabetes, out of a total student population of 2.8 million.
“The individual burden of health care for university students with type 1 diabetes can be overwhelming. Diabetes self-management is challenging enough, but it is compounded by the need to adjust to an often stressful and erratic student life. There might be new challenges regarding day-to-day life including those related to cooking, relationships, and time schedules. Additional obstacles might include a reluctance to disclose a diagnosis of diabetes or the exploration of risk-taking behaviour characteristic of young adulthood.
“Joining a new primary care practice (even when an on-campus surgery exists) can be challenging for students with type 1 diabetes. It can be especially difficult for those unfamiliar with the national health service in the country. Finding appropriate places to inject insulin adds to the stress. Furthermore, university students can find it difficult to combine attending diabetes education, such as the DAFNE course, with university timetables and limited transport options.
“More than half of 584 surveyed university students with type 1 diabetes in the UK found it harder to manage diabetes while away from home or experienced frequent hypoglycaemia, and one in four were hospitalised for diabetes during their studies. However, 91% never or rarely contacted university support services.
“One barrier to understanding the extent of this problem is that England's National Diabetes Audit does not separately report data for the type 1 diabetes 18–25-year age-bracket. At the same time, our own ongoing research suggests that few universities are aware of how many students with type 1 diabetes are enrolled. This sparse data limits opportunities to provide adequate support from enrolment through to graduation.
“At the University of Essex, UK, and in collaboration with the Jagiellonian University, Poland, we developed a novel approach for supporting these students. Our ADAPT approach aims to create a better university life for students with type 1 diabetes. It is hoped that such an approach will help to lower the risks for preventable hospitalisation and increase the quality of life of students with type 1 diabetes by improving their skills and confidence in diabetes self-management as well as raising awareness among those responsible for their wellbeing.”
The programme recently won a Quality in Care (QiC) Diabetes award in the Wellbeing category.
In a case study on the programme QiC Diabetes said: “This programme began in September 2022 and two academic years have been completed. It has led to major improvements for students with diabetes at the university. There is a focus not only on physical health, but also on psychological well-being.
“The student diabetes clinic has been well attended, as have the group lunches both at this university and the partner university in Poland. HbA1c decreased in the majority of attending patients. None of the patients with type 1 diabetes in the ADAPT support group has needed diabetes-related emergency care.
“Diabetes education has been provided to students, mainly focused on information about carb counting and dealing with insulin. Students report high satisfaction with the programme.
“The team has worked with the university Disability Champion and communications team to send out regular emails to all students on campus, including those without diabetes and those with disabilities. Reasonable adjustment plans have been set up for students with diabetes. New diabetes technology awareness has been raised with academic staff and exam invigilators receiving specific training. Senior university management have been supportive of the initiative and provided funding.”
DRWF are proud to support the QiC Diabetes Awards.
Find out more about Quality in Care Diabetes awards
Visit the ADAPT website
Read a report on the ADAPT programme in The Lancet
Read more about type 1 diabetes
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