#DOCDAY at EASD2018

#DOCDAY is now as much of the EASD program as other satellite events. While you may not see me limbering up at the start line of the EASD5K, you certainly will see me prepping for #DOCDAY!

The first #DOCDAY event was back in 2015 in Stockholm when diabetes advocate extraordinaire, Bastian Hauck, hired a small, overheated room in the back of a downtown café, with plans to house some diabetes bloggers and advocates who would be at EASD, providing us with the opportunity to share some of the things we have been up to in diabetes advocacy. The promise of coffee and cinnamon buns was more than enough to see the room fill to capacity before the event started.

My, how the event has grown! The following year in Munich, Bastian had the brilliant idea of moving #DOCDAY to the conference centre and inviting HCPs, researchers and industry to attend. The event was still very much an opportunity for PWD to share our work, but it made sense that we weren’t simply talking to each other. The echo chamber of diabetes can be vast sometimes!

Bastian has asked me to speak at each #DOCDAY event. I’m yet to work out whether it’s because he’s desperate for presenters, or if he just wants me up there so people can giggle at my odd accent and unintentional (yet frighteningly frequent) ‘Australian-isms’, that make sense to no one other than me and the very limited number of Aussie HCPs who are in the room. (Thank you to the couple of Aussie endos who came along this year and some other folks from the Diabetes Australia family!)

There was a very strong focus this year on DIY technologies. Dr Katarina Braune – fellow looper and paediatric endocrinologist – spoke about some incredible grass roots initiatives involving sharing information and expertise about DIY systems among the diabetes community in Germany. Katarina is a force to be reckoned with – dynamic, passionate, smart (so smart!) and committed to ensuring that people who want to come on board the DIY train are supported to do so.

Dr Shane O’Donnell, postdoc research fellow from University College Dublin, spoke about a new project called OPEN which is an international collaboration of PWD, HCPs, social and computer scientists and diabetes advocacy groups. (Disclosure: I’m involved in this work.) We’re hoping to investigate and establish an evidence-base around the impact of DIY systems on PWD and the broader healthcare world.

And I spoke about the recently released Diabetes Australia DIYAPS position statement.

It’s clear that this is a hot topic amongst some advocates. But the message remains clear – this is not about converting everyone onto a DIY system. It’s about ensuring those who chose that path are supported, a point I was at pains to hammer across:

(Click for original tweet)

The great thing about DOCDAY is that it is totally informal. There is no real agenda. Bastian likes to have a couple of people lined up to kick off proceedings, and say a few words, but the floor is open to anyone who has anything relevant to share.

Mandy Marquardt, Team Novo Nordisk cycling champ, spoke about her Olympic plans and how she’s clearly not letting type 1 diabetes standing in the way of achieving her dreams.

And Amin from MedAngel spoke about the importance of knowing that our insulin is being stored correctly, and about a poster presented at EASD which showed that a lot of the time, our fridges at home are not keeping insulin within the manufacturer-recommended temperature range, which means that insulin quality and potency may be compromised. More about that here.

(Also – great time for those of us down under to think about ordering a MedAngel as the weather starting to heat up. Do yourself a favour – and give yourself some peace of mind – by knowing your insulin is not being cooked or frozen. For Australians, order here.)

Some new initiatives I heard about this year include:

Diatravellers: a brilliant idea of using social platforms to connect travellers with diabetes to interact, share information and promote activities (such as events and peer group meetings). It’s early days yet, but keep an eye on their website as more information comes to hand.

The awesome Steffi from Pep Me Up (where you can buy very cool stickers for your Libre sensor, temporary tattoos and my choice of medic alert bracelets), is working with the community to develop a new code of ethics for diabetes bloggers. Another ‘watch this space’ idea which is just getting started.

And, Weronika Kowalska spoke about ConnecT1on Campaign, her new project for the European Patients Forum Program for Young Patient Advocates which will feature type 1 diabetes advocates connecting with people from all over the world. This is an awareness raising initiative and you can follow along on Instagram.

One of my main criticisms of EASD is that there is such limited ‘patient’ involvement in the actual scientific program, which is frustrating considering that there is a huge contingent of bloggers and advocates in attendance (thanks to Roche Diabetes Care organising for us to have access all areas media passes as part of our involvement in their #DiabetesMeetUp event). This is why #DOCDAY is so important. It gives us an opportunity to take the stage and talk about initiatives and issues important to people affected by diabetes. The HCPs and researchers who attend get to hear us and speak with us. It’s such a simple idea, but one that makes perfect sense!