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The rising cost of insulin, costly insurance premiums and the popularity of high deductible insurance plans have resulted in decreased access to insulin. People with diabetes who need financial support for insulin turn to crowdfunding websites, such as GoFundMe, to raise funds. It is unknown if crowdfunding is successful in funding insulin campaigns. This study aims to explore the success and contributing factors for crowdfunding insulin requests in the United States (US). In this retrospective, descriptive study, data were extracted from GoFundMe insulin campaigns for human use in the US from February to April 2019. Data were coded for the following characteristics: campaign requestor, the reason for the request, facial recognition age, gender and race, education level of the post (Flesch-Kincaid), diabetes type, insurance status, disability status, and previous request for pharma support. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were utilized to describe and analyze the campaign requestor, purpose and success rate, and contributing factors to campaign success. Of 205 GoFundMe campaigns, 114 (55.0%) were started by the person with diabetes (as opposed to family/friends). Campaigns were created due to insurance issues (i.e., loss of insurance, inadequate insurance coverage; N=125, 61.0%) and requested a median of $1,100 ($50-$200,000), and raised a median of $65 ($0-$6,920). A mean of 29.5% (± 0.6%) of the requested campaign amounts were met. There were no differences in funded status by the characteristics tested. Those who requested lower amounts of money Disclosure J. E. Blanchette: Board Member; Self; JDRF, Consultant; Self; Insulet Corporation, Other Relationship; Self; Insulet Corporation, Tandem Diabetes Care, Research Support; Self; Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists. M. Tran: None. E. Iacob: None. T. Oser: Advisory Panel; Self; Cecelia Health, Dexcom, Inc., Advisory Panel; Spouse/Partner; Cecelia Health, Dexcom, Inc. E. Grigorian: None. L. S. Edelman: None. M. L. Litchman: Research Support; Self; Abbott Diabetes.

Background: More than 1 in 10 women of reproductive age identify as having some type of disability. Most of these women are able to become pregnant and have similar desires for motherhood as women without disability. Women with disability, however, face greater stigma and stereotyping, additional risk factors, and may be less likely to receive adequate reproductive health care compared with their peers without disability. More and more individuals, including those with disability, are utilizing the internet to seek information and peer support. Blogs are one source of peer-to-peer social media engagement that may provide a forum for women with disability to both share and obtain peer-to-peer information and support. Nevertheless, it is not clear what content about reproductive health and pregnancy and/or motherhood is featured in personal blogs authored by women with spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic brain injury (TBI), spina bifida, and autism. Objective: The objective of this study was twofold: (1) to examine the information being shared in blogs by women with 4 types of disabilities, namely, SCI, TBI, spina bifida, and autism, about reproductive health, disability, health care, pregnancy, and motherhood; and (2) to classify the content of reproductive health experiences addressed by bloggers to better understand what they viewed as important. Methods: Personal blogs were identified by searching Google with keywords related to disabilities, SCI, TBI, spina bifida, and autism, and a variety of keywords related to reproductive health. The first 10 pages of each database search in Google, based on the relevance of the search terms, were reviewed and all blogs in these pages were included. Blog inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) written by a woman or care partner (ie, parent or spouse) of a woman with a self-identified diagnosis of SCI, TBI, spina bifida, or autism; (2) focused on the personal experience of health and health care during the prepregnancy, prenatal, antepartum, intrapartum, and/or postpartum periods; (3) written in English; and (4) published between 2013 and 2017. A descriptive and thematic qualitative analysis of blogs and corresponding comments was facilitated with NVivo software and matrix analysis. Results: Our search strategy identified 125 blogs that met all the inclusion criteria; no blogs written by women with spina bifida were identified. We identified 4 reproductive health themes featured in the blog of women with disabilities: (1) (in)accessible motherhood, (2) (un)supportive others, (3) different, but not different, and (4) society questioning motherhood. Conclusions: This analysis of personal blogs about pregnancy and health care written by women with SCI, TBI, and autism provides a glimpse into their experiences. The challenges faced by these women and the adaptations they made to successfully navigate pregnancy and early motherhood provide insights that can be used to shape future research.

Objective : Opportunities for individuals affected by type 1 diabetes (T1D) to engage in peer health activities are limited. The Diabetes Mixer is a community-based, non-clinical, face-to-face, peer health event for adults with T1D and their support person. The purpose of this paper is to 1) provide a program description of the Diabetes Mixer, and 2) analyze attendee perceptions of the Diabetes Mixer. Research Design and Method : An analysis was conducted with Diabetes Mixer attendees to understand their perceptions of the event. Attendees included individuals with T1D and their support person. Surveys included quantitative and qualitative questions and were completed by attendees at the conclusion of the Diabetes Mixer. A descriptive analysis was conducted. Results : Both individuals with T1D and support persons valued the Diabetes Mixer as a peer health event. All attendees stated they would attend a future Diabetes Mixer. Attendees planned to continue their relationship with the individuals they met at the Diabetes Mixer beyond the event, in-person, and through social media. Three themes were identified: building a community, connection through common experiences, and a fun venue to gain resources. Conclusions : The Diabetes Mixer is a feasible, successful peer health event that provides education and support to individuals with T1D and their support person in a judgement-free atmosphere. Diabetes stakeholders should work together to develop peer-support resources for adults with T1D in non-clinical settings. Further research is needed to identify how interactions with peers can support diabetes management.