Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT257

Background: Young people with diabetes face significant physical and mental health challenges that are often overlooked or mismanaged. Tellmi is a novel digital peer-support mental health app designed for individuals from age 11. Tellmi offers youths unlimited, anonymous, and pre-moderated peer support, organised by age groups. For high-risk comments, real-time trained counsellors actively intervene to provide appropriate support.

Methods: This qualitative study aimed to explore the lived experiences of youths with diabetes through interviews with participants recruited via Tellmi. As part of this project, the Tellmi app was adapted to enhance diabetes-specific support. Additions included 32 diabetes validated resources and services, such as a Diabetes Sucks Portal offering direct access to the Somerset NHS Children’s Diabetes Nurses helpline. New content addressed topics like recognising diabetes symptoms, mental health, sexual health, and students’ rights at school, codeveloped with NHS Somerset, paediatric diabetes clinicians, psychologists from Somerset Foundation Trust and the Tellmi team with input from youths with diabetes who tested and approved the questions. Promotional materials were also designed by young people with diabetes, ensuring a collaborative, youth-focused approach.

Results: 7 participants (2M, 5 F) were recruited (age13-20 yrs). Findings revealed that a lack of awareness among healthcare providers often led to missed opportunities for timely diagnosis. For girls, symptoms such as weight loss were frequently misinterpreted as disordered eating, contributing to the later development of eating disorders. Participants also revealed that schools lack understanding of the complexities of diabetes management. All participants reported experiencing mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicidal ideation. While some participants had accessed Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), many expressed a preference for informal, peer-based support such as the Tellmi app. Tellmi was praised for allowing young people to both give and receive support within a community. Participants found this model effective in addressing feelings of isolation and in providing practical advice and emotional reassurance.

Conclusions: These findings highlight the urgent need to integrate psychological support into the diagnostic and management processes of diabetes for young people. This research underscores the importance of holistic, patient-centered approaches to diabetes care. Improving education for healthcare providers, caregivers, and schools could facilitate earlier diagnosis and reduce the long-term physical, mental, and economic costs of diabetes. Integrating psychological support as a standard part of diabetes care, and leveraging innovative novel digital tools like Tellmi, offers a promising pathway to improving outcomes for young people with diabetes.