"Counting Carbs to Be in Charge": A Comparison of an Internet-Based Education Module With In-Class Education in Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes

Vanita Pais; Barkha P Patel; Sholeh Ghayoori; Jill K Hamilton

doi:10.2337/cd20-0060

"Counting Carbs to Be in Charge": A Comparison of an Internet-Based Education Module With In-Class Education in Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes

Clin Diabetes. 2021 Jan;39(1):80-87. doi: 10.2337/cd20-0060.

Authors

Vanita Pais¹, Barkha P Patel¹, Sholeh Ghayoori¹, Jill K Hamilton^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Endocrinology, Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
² Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Abstract

Carbohydrate counting is an essential component of type 1 diabetes education but can be difficult for adolescents to learn. Because adolescents are avid users of technology, an Internet-based education module was compared with an in-class education session in terms of carbohydrate counting accuracy in adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Adolescent participants displayed increased carbohydrate counting accuracy after attending an in-class education session compared with an Internet-based education module. These results suggest that online education is best reserved as an adjunctive therapy to in-class teaching in this population.