ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Action4Diabetes (A4D) is a non-profit UK organisation formed in 2016 that is making sustainable and scalable progress to provide quality Type 1 diabetes (T1D) healthcare in Southeast Asia (SEA). A4D provides comprehensive partnership programmes through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with the governments in SEA that guarantees ongoing supplies of free insulin, blood glucose testing, HbA1c tests and hospital emergency funds in low-middle-income countries (LMICs)-Laos, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar. During the pandemic, in 2020-2021 in collaboration with SEA local healthcare professionals, A4D developed HelloType1 an innovative digital healthcare educational resource platform of T1D in SEA local languages for healthcare professionals, families and people with T1D.

Objective: To educate, engage and empower healthcare professionals, families and people with T1D by creating a digital platform that is free-to-access and provides accurate up-to-date information, patient-oriented education and best practice care about T1D care in SEA local languages.

Methods: HelloType1 content has been designed for 2 core audiences. A user option of choosing either ‘healthcare professional’ or ‘people living with T1D and caregivers’ on entry to the website. It covers 8 core topics and content is curated using information from accredited sources such as International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) and International Society for Paediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD). All content was reviewed and translated to local languages by a panel T1D healthcare experts and lay people with T1D to ensure that the information was appropriate in the local context. HelloType1 was launched in English, Khmer and Vietnamese languages in 2021-March 2022. Adaptation in Thai, Bahasa, Burmese and Laotian languages will be launched in August-October 2022. A Facebook page was created for each country in their local languages for signposting to the HelloType1 websites.

Results: There was an 80% increase in the number of users and 113% increase in the number of pages visited (Pageviews) between Q3 and Q4 2021 in English and Khmer languages. 53% of pageviews were coming from healthcare professionals and 47% from families and people with T1D. The HelloType1 Cambodia Facebook analytics showed approximately 1000 followers and had a 4% increase each month. On average, 3 posts were published weekly which generated a monthly average reach of 4000.

Conclusion: Strengthening health systems and developing sustainable and locally owned solutions are vital to improve health and quality of life of people with T1D. This requires universal coverage, upskilling and education to close the T1D gaps in SEA.