14 DAY TRIAL // Insulin pumps are a far more effective method for diabetes sufferers to take their insulin than multiple shots per day. In fact, that was the main reason why they were created in the first place. Now, doctors and psychologists will start a two-year long study, aimed at understanding exactly how the pump influences the lives of the bearers, as well as the effects the device will have on the lives of some 300 patients and caregivers.
During the first year of the experiment, some 40 people will be studied, 20 of whom will be using the pump system. The others will constitute the control group, with diabetes patients taking their insulin via injections, several times per day, depending of the severity of their conditions. Their quality of life will be assessed by researchers, to see if improvements appear or not and how relations between patients and caregivers modify over time.
The second year will see an extension of the study, with some 300 patients scheduled to enter medical observation. A number of factors will be traced, including patients’ relationship with other people, how their daily activities are influenced by the dependency on the device, how their self-esteem modifies, how diabetes sufferers use their time and what habits will change once they start using the insulin pump.
"Health care is moving more and more into an outpatient setting. One of the reasons we're so interested is that an insulin pump is a great example of the use of technology to remotely monitor a chronic disease. Anytime we talk about the management of a chronic disease, remote monitoring is always a better option. If this research proves that being on a pump positively influences the lives of diabetics, it could provide incentives to place more people on them," explained Dr. Max Stachura, director of the Medical College of Georgia Center for Telehealth.