Development of "VIG-Diabetes", a video intervention to optimise self-management in young people with type 1 diabetes

In the past few years, an emphasis has been placed on effective communication between healthcare professionals (HCPs) and young people in order to support the self-management of diabetes. Efforts have been made to ensure that HCPs are well trained in communication techniques, such as motivational interviewing, as a means to address the concern that poor communication contributes to reduced engagement with care and suboptimal diabetes control in young people. However, over the long term, such interventions have not been successful. In this article, we propose that this is because the two-way nature of communication is not being addressed. Young people are not being offered training in communication themselves, which results in both parties struggling to achieve the desired outcome from each interaction. The diabetes team at Tayside Children's Hospital has developed a video-based intervention for use in the diabetes clinic that offers training in communication skills to young people with diabetes and their HCPs, with a view to enhancing engagement with care and self-management of diabetes.