Effectiveness of Using Remote Communication Technology in Insulin Pump Training: A Pilot Study

Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the effectiveness of using remote communication technology in the technical training of an insulin pump as compared to the traditional face-to-face training in adult patients with diabetes who were familiar with insulin pump therapy.;Sample and Methods: Emails with a survey link were sent to 61 eligible people who had purchased an insulin pump between July and October 2013 and had been trained by one of the manufacturer's diabetes educators. The participants were given the choice of receiving their training in a face-to-face meeting or via remote communication technology. The survey consisted of 27 questions that asked the participants' characteristics, knowledge acquisition and their satisfaction with the insulin pump training and their chosen training method.;Findings: Thirty-eight participants completed the survey, with a mean age of 41 years old, average of 24 years with diabetes, and having used an insulin pump for an average of 10 years. There was no statistically significant difference in their characteristics, knowledge acquisition, or satisfaction with either training method between the remote training group (n = 17) and the face-to-face training group (n = 20). Although people in the remote training group reported higher satisfaction scores with the insulin pump after training (p < .05), interpreting these study findings needs caution due to the small sample size and self-selection bias.;Conclusion: The results of this pilot study encourages that remote communication technology might be an effective tool to provide technical training to adults who are familiar with insulin pump therapy. Further research with larger and more diverse populations is required to examine the effectiveness of remote communication technology methods when used in insulin pump training.