WSU gets $3 million NIH grant for improving diabetes care in youth – Crain’s Detroit Business

Wayne State University has received a $3.05 million grant from the National Institute of Health for a five-year trial focused on helping parents and other caretakers assist diabetic adolescents to complete their daily care.

The trial is aimed at African-American young people diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, because they are considered to be at higher risk for poor diabetes management, according to Wayne State's website.

The five-year trial will study a computer-delivered intervention during doctor visits that reminds and motivates parents to stay involved in their child's care, the university said in a statement. During visits to the clinic, caretakers will be given a tablet on which an avatar will take them through a sort of multimedia course that includes informational video clips, testimonials, motivational content and goal-setting strategies. Test trials have already been conducted and indicate that the intervention is effective.

"Research has shown that maintaining high levels of parental involvement and supervision of daily diabetes care is a critical predictor of youth diabetes management," said Deborah Ellis, Ph.D., professor of family medicine and public health sciences in Wayne State's School of Medicine. "However, physicians do not always have time to discuss parenting behaviors during busy clinic visits."

It will be rolled out in October at the Children's Hospital of Michigan as well as three sites in Chicago, Ellis said. Between 200 and 250 African-American adolescents will be included in this trial.

See the original post here:
WSU gets $3 million NIH grant for improving diabetes care in youth - Crain's Detroit Business