Improving Management of Type 1 Diabetes in the UK: The DAFNE Programme as a Research Test-bed - 5 x 1 Day RCT

The DAFNE (Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating) course is a 1-week structured education course teaching skills in insulin use and dietary freedom to individuals with Type 1 diabetes. At the moment, we do not understand enough about why some people get more out of the DAFNE programmes than others. Currently DAFNE is always taught over 1 week. We aim to find out whether or not the benefit of DAFNE is the same whether it is delivered over 5 consecutive days, or one day a week for 5 consecutive weeks. If the benefits are the same then it would mean that the course could routinely be offered to patients in either format, thus allowing more patient choice and flexibility. At present there have been no RCTs to address

Approximately 170 people will take part in this study over the next 2 years. Half the people who participate will be allocated to attend a DAFNE course over 5 consecutive days, and the other halfwill attend one day a week for 5 consecutive weeks. We will perform routine biomedical assessments as part of the DAFNE programme and normal diabetes care (e.g. HbA1c (a measure of long-term blood glucose control), weight, blood pressure, blood biochemistry), and ask patients to recall hypoglycaemic (low blood sugar) events. We will also ask participants to fill in some research questionnaires, they will take 45-60 minutes to fill in each time. They will include questions about their diabetes, quality of life, well-being and diabetes knowledge. These assessments will be made at 3 time points; baseline, 6 and 12 months.

The main outcome measure is change in HbA1c, with the other biomedical and psychosocial parameters being of secondary importance. These evaluations will help us develop the DAFNE programme further and inform us how best to deliver the course in the future.