Search

Open-source automated insulin delivery (AID) systems have shown to be safe and effective in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in real-world studies. However, there is a lack of evidence on the effect on their and their caregivers' quality-of-life (QoL) and well-being. The aim of this study was to assess the QoL of caregivers and children and adolescents using open-source AID systems using validated measures.In this cross-sectional online survey we examined the caregiver-reported QoL and well-being of users and non-users. Validated questionnaires assessed general well-being (WHO-5), diabetes-specific QoL (PAID, PedsQL) and sleep quality (PSQI).168 caregivers from 27 countries completed at least one questionnaire, including 119 caregivers of children using open-source AID and 49 not using them. After inclusion of covariates, all measures but the PAID and one subscale of the PedsQL showed significant between-group differences with AID users reporting higher general (WHO-5: p=0.003), sleep-related (PSQI: p=0.001) and diabetes-related QoL (PedsQL: p0.05).The results show the potential impact of open-source AID on QoL and psychological well-being of caregivers and children and adolescents with T1D, and can therefore help to inform academia, regulators, and policymakers about the psychosocial health implications of open-source AID.

Aims The aim was to understand diabetes-related barriers and successes that people with diabetes (PWD) have in the context of work outside the home. Methods The DAWN2 survey of adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus contained open-ended items about living with diabetes. All responses to these questions were reviewed and references to worklife were extracted for analysis. An emergent coding schema was developed and validated by two independent coders (kappa = 0.875). Results In total, 328 PWD wrote about work, 93 (28%) with type 1 and 235 (72%) with type 2, of whom 90 took insulin. Analysis generated five themes: (1) Work as context for learning about diabetes; (2) Work as an arena for personal achievement and self-identity with diabetes; (3) The demands of work conflict with the demands of diabetes self-care; (4) Discrimination and stigma in the context of work; and (5) Social support in the context of work. Several of these themes identify challenges relating to the impact of diabetes upon work, and vice-versa. However, coping strategies and supportive social relations generated affirmative psychosocial experiences. Conclusion The challenges that diabetes, its treatment, and its complications can have for working adults highlights the importance of social support in the work environment.

Background: Automated insulin delivery (AID) systems have been shown to be safe and effective in reducing hyper- and hypoglycaemia, but are not universally available, accessible, and affordable. Therefore, user-driven open-source AID systems are becoming increasingly popular. Methods: This study investigated motivations why people with diabetes or their caregivers decide to build and use a personalised open-source AID. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted to assess personal motivations and associated self-reported clinical outcomes. Findings: Of 897 participants from 35 countries, 80·4% were adults with diabetes and 19·6% were caregivers of children with diabetes. Primary motivations to commence open-source AID included: improving glycaemic outcomes (94% of adults, 95% of caregivers), reducing acute (87%/96%) and long-term (83%/91%) complication risk, interacting less frequently with diabetes technology (81%/76%), improving their/child’s sleep quality (72%/80%), increasing their/child’s life expectancy (72%/85%), lack of commercially available AID systems (71%/70%), and unachieved therapy goals with available therapy options (68%/69%). Improving their own sleep quality was an almost universal motivator for caregivers (94%). Significant improvements, independent of age and gender, were observed in self-reported HbA1C, 7·14±1·13% (54·5±12·4 mmol/mol) to 6·24±0·64% (44·7±7·0 mmol/mol; p

An exploratory study was carried out in three European countries – Denmark, United Kingdom and the Netherlands – concerning the safety of migrant workers, especially those coming from Eastern European countries. Special attention was given to the relationship between safety and the national background of migrant workers. Forty-four interviews with HSE experts – e.g. regulators, union representatives – in the three countries, a survey using the NOSACQ-50 safety climate questionnaire and an accident data analysis using Danish data have been combined to draw a picture of the situation of migrant workers in the three countries. Although much data is still anecdotal it is concluded that these workers form a vulnerable group. As long as many migrant workers remain unregistered in the country where they work and national accident databases are not sufficiently or systematically coded, the magnitude of the migrant worker problem remains largely elusive.

Transformational leadership has been widely researched and associated with followers' performance, attitudes, health and well-being. However, less research has focused on the antecedents of transformational leadership behaviors. A few studies have examined the characteristics of followers and the attitudes of transformational leaders themselves. There is, however, a lack of knowledge on how the context may encourage transformational leadership behaviors. A study of 58 middle managers from two companies in Denmark; a private accountancy firm and a public elderly care explored this. Using the Experience Sampling Method and questionnaires it was found that both situational factors and working conditions were associated with transformational leadership behaviors at work. The results suggest that research strategies using multiple levels and methods can provide additional information on the antecedents of transformational leadership behaviors in middle managers.

Recent epidemiological studies have shown that there is a clear need for efforts to prevent non-traffic occupational injuries among truck drivers. The objective of the present study was to establish the hazard scenarios for truck drivers during loading/unloading through analyses of text descriptions of accident processes. Focus was on accidents that were primarily related to movement/operation on and around the truck, which are particular to truck drivers. Special emphasis was placed on falls from heights, as this was shown to be the most frequent type of accident and a major cause of fractures among truck drivers. Analyses of text descriptions of 136 accidents, including 63 cases of fall from height, collected in one company over a period of three years, revealed that: (a) the major triggering factors for falls from heights on and around the truck were stepping off the edge at height (33.3%), wrong footing (27.0%), and loss of balance/control of wagon (15.9%); (b) the major triggering factors for accidents on and around the truck in general were slip/trip (44.1%) and defect/malfunction (14.7%). The present study identified four target areas for improving prevention of occupational accidents of truck drivers in connection with movement/operation on and around trucks during loading/unloading: (1) improvement of the procedures for unloading to reduce the risk of fall from the back-hatch lift, (2) improvements of shoes and housekeeping to reduce the risk of slip/trip, (3) improvement of truck maintenance, and (4) reconciliation of views on causes of accidents between employers and truck drivers as a first step for a dialogue for improving safety in the goods-transport branch.