By kristalamb |
A new paper from the INTREPID Lab at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, authored by Dr. Carly Whitmore at McMaster University has been published in the journal Health Expectations. The paper, co-authored by multiple Diabetes Action Canada researchers and Patient Partners, looks at Partnered Recruitment: Engaging individuals with lived experience in the recruitment of co-design participants.
“For many young adults, the daily burden of living with type 1 diabetes can contribute to mental health challenges, including diabetes distress,” says Whitmore. “Led by Dr. Peter Selby, our research project is looking to co-design a program that brings together diabetes and mental health care to help address these challenges, and then test this program in a group of young adults living with type 1 diabetes. In this paper, we report on our approach to engaging people with lived experience of diabetes as part of a Partner Advisory Council to recruit participants for this co-design work. This research has underscored not only the need for this type of program, but also the benefits of this type of engagement in research.”
For those with lived experience, this work is helpful in that it highlights the value of patient partnership in the research process from the very initial stages. People with diabetes helped develop the recruitment strategy, ensuring the team was able to reach young adults with diverse perspectives and experiences from across the country. “Informed by the lived experiences and existing connections of Partner Advisory Council members, this recruitment approach centred the needs and preferences of potential participants and was more inclusive and less stigmatizing. For example, rather than requiring potential participants to complete questionnaires about their mental health, our team assumed the presence of mental health challenges like diabetes distress to encourage broader engagement,” says Whitmore.
Patient Partner Kitty Shephard, who was part of the recruitment planning process, sees the value in the strategy. “By collaboratively engaging with the Partner Advisory Council from the start of the project, our team was able to design this research in a way that addressed common misconceptions and created a meaningful space for young adults to share their experiences.”
Moving forward, the team will test and co-design the program. The hope is that once the results of the research are known, they can potentially serve as a model for bringing mental healthcare together with chronic conditions.
“Throughout the co-design phase of the project, we heard time and time again from people with lived experience about the importance of community connectedness. For this reason, we are currently developing a tailored resource for those living with type 1 diabetes to help facilitate these community connections,” says Patient Partner Natalie Mangialardi.
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Associated Programs
Mental Health and Diabetes
Supporting the Mental Health Needs of People with Type 1 Diabetes
Diabetes is a 24-hour condition with no vacations or days off. Those who live with it understand that diabetes distress – the term for mental health challenges specific to diabetes – is very real and can be very challenging to manage. It can also have a big impact on other aspects of diabetes care – like this A1Cs doctors are always checking.
This episode’s guests will give listeners lots to think about when it comes to diabetes and mental health – and how Diabetes Action Canada is at the forefront of new programs aimed at improving mental health in everyone with diabetes.
Host Krista Lamb with talk to guests Dr. Carly Whitmore, an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University, and Linxi Mytkolli, Diabetes Action Canada’s Lead of Patient Engagement and Knowledge Mobilization and a person living with diabetes.
