More than 5700 children with diabetes attend American Diabetes Association (ADA) camps each year. Training volunteer medical staff has become more challenging given the rapid advances in diabetes technology. Through a prospective, multi-site pilot study at 4 ADA camps, we assessed the efficacy of an educational bundle of online interactive cases with in-situ simulation in preparing medical volunteers for management of type 1 diabetes (T1D). We hypothesized that our curriculum would reduce the workload necessary to manage children with T1D as measured by the NASA-Task load index (TLX), a validated workload assessment tool comprised of 6 self-rated scales; mental, physical, and temporal demand, performance, effort, and frustration. No statistical difference in change in workload was observed between the intervention and control groups (Table 1). However, both groups were small and had different experiences prior to camp. The reduction in temporal demand reported by the intervention group by the end of camp may signal an impact among medical providers. Future interventions, with larger, more balanced groups, could evaluate timing of TLX change and the effect on medical staff’s camp experience and patient care.
E.S. Atwood: Research Support; Self; American Diabetes Association. N.M. Sheanon: Research Support; Self; American Diabetes Association. S. Amanat: None. J.C. Khoury: None. M. Klein: None.
