Diabetes 101: A novel method for engaging families with diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Diabetes 101 was created by a virtual multidisciplinary diabetes team and initially operated via Twitter in March 2020 as a response to the first national UK lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. Anxieties for parents and carers of children living with diabetes were extremely high. Misinformation and a lack of specific guidance for children with type 1 diabetes was a significant problem. This was coupled with intense pressure on clinical services, which were working with reduced staff due to redeployment or self-isolation. The account quickly became a mainstay of the diabetes online community and is now routinely tagged when Twitter users have questions about diabetes. Novel formats of education delivery have been successfully trialled and a resource-sharing website has been developed. The project has demonstrated the power of creative and agile team working combined with accessible technology during one of the most challenging years in NHS diabetes care history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]