Travellers with type 1 diabetes: questionnaire development and descriptive analysis of knowledge and practices

People With Diabetes Using Insulin Flying Across Multiple Time Zones: Limitations and Opportunities for Diabetes Technologies

Increasingly, people with diabetes (PWD) are using wearable and other devices to support self-management. During air travel, there are 4 stakeholders involved in maximizing the safety of wireless devices for diabetes care used in flight: (1) manufacturers of the devices, (2) airlines, (3) the Transportation Security Administration, and (4) the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These stakeholders have all developed technologies and policies that assist PWD who prepare for and take appropriate actions during long-haul flights. This article discusses the performance and use of 6 classes of specific wireless diabetes devices during an airplane flight, including the following: (1) blood glucose monitors, (2) continuous glucose monitors, (3) insulin pumps, (4) smart pens for dosing insulin injections, (5) advanced hybrid closed-loop systems, and (6) spinal cord stimulators for painful diabetic neuropathy. Through the policies and safeguards of the 4 stakeholders and the proper self-care measures that insulin-using PWD can take, it is possible to maintain safe glycemic levels on flights across multiple time zones.

Level of Knowledge and Awareness of Diabetic Emergencies Among Turkish Bus Drivers: Example of the Mediterranean Region

The objective of this research was to determine the level of knowledge and awareness of diabetic emergencies among Turkish bus drivers. Methods. The universe of this descriptive and cross-sectional study was all the individuals working as bus drivers in the Mediterranean Region between January-June 2019, and the study sample was 1292 drivers who met the inclusion criteria of the research. Data were collected by the Personal Information Form and the Diabetic Emergency Information and Awareness Survey Form. Descriptive statistics, the Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal-Wallis test were used in data evaluation. Results. The average age of bus drivers participating in the study was 38.29 ± 9.44 years, while their average work experience was 12.50 ± 8.92 years. Among them, 14.9% of bus drivers had a diabetic family member; 23.7% of bus drivers had a first aid certificate; 11.5% of bus drivers received diabetes-related training. The average score of drivers for the level of knowledge and awareness regarding diabetic emergencies was found to be 15.39 ± 4.72. There was a statistically significant difference between the drivers’ average scores for the level of knowledge and awareness and their age, education status, work experience, the presence of chronic disease, the presence of a diabetic family member, the presence of a first aid certificate, diabetes-related training, the place of receiving this training variables (p < 0.05). Conclusions. Bus drivers were found to have above average levels of knowledge and awareness of diabetic emergencies. Bus drivers are recommended to be trained on diabetic emergencies and raising awareness of diabetes mellitus to ensure a proper intervention in case of emergencies in individuals with diabetes mellitus during travels.