Meeting Athinyaa
13TH JANUARY 2017
For our first meeting, we had the opportunity to meet with Dr Athinyaa Thiraviaraj, who is physician & diabetologist in Derry/L'derry. We where briefed on the importance of this project and what 'DiabetesWest' wants to come out of this brief. Athinyaa explained that there is expectations about type 1 diabetes and this can make people living with diabetes emotional and stressed. As most people don't fully understand what type 1 diabetes is and how important it is.
We where explained that the design solution has to be reflected around 4 concepts that take place in the 'Transitional Stage', this include the following:
Introduction to the team (Doctors etc)
Introduction to the clinic , how? what difference?
How to manage certain aspects of diabetes (Care planning)
Sick days, smoking, drinking, sexual health
Athinyaa explained that the interface between the doctor and the person with the diabetes is a very important aspects , but there is a lot more ascepts to the 'Transitional stage' than people think.
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We asked 'What certain resources are giving to the teenagers'
Athinyaa replied 'Leaflets are given to the teenagers but thats about it, and some of the designs are not invited and this is where the issue begins'
Athinyaa then explained that the design should be in a digital format so that it is easily shared and this gains more awareness. She made us aware that we would be having informal meet ups with the 16-23 years , so that we could gain knowledge from them but also let them to express their ideas for creating a design solution. As the young people with diabetes are the key to creating a effective design solution.
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This meeting was very important for our project as it let us hear directly what is needed and expected for this brief. From this it was clear to see that our designs need to be beneficial to the young people living with diabetes, its needs to express that diabetes doesn't define them and that they can live a normal life like any teenager. It was also made clear that the design solution has to be digital, so this could possibly include an animation, infographic etc. From first seeing this brief i felt personally that the design solution needed to be interactive, so that the young people with diabetes will gain a full understand and not lose interest.
Visit to Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry/Derry
26TH JANUARY 2017
For our second meeting we got the chance to visit Altnagelivn hospital and meet a few of the young diabetics first starting of the transition process with their permission and their parents. It was made very clear from this meeting that few of the young diabetics took charge of their diabetes at an earlier stage as being diagnosed at a younger age made them grow up with diabetes, this therefore meant that they had more independent and their parents felt the same and pushed them on and not hold them back. Whereas those who got diagnosed at a later age, expressed facing more challenges such as remembering to take insulin. Those diabetics parents where also even more protective. This was a good opportunity to meet fellow type 1 diabetics and see how they feel about the transition process.
Ladies Who Lunch
7TH FEBRUARY 2017
As a group we decided to meet up with Athinyaa and grab lunch to discuss our presentation and our general ideas. As a group we discussed each individually area were focusing on, these included waiting times etc. The area I decided to focus on is smoking, drinking and sexual health mainly because of the peer pressures, wanting to fit into the crowd and it being associated with adolescence. I expressed my idea with Athinyaa and asked 'did she feel this was an area that wouldnt be discussed enough in her clinic'. She said 'yes, very much so' she stated that a lot feel embarrassed about talking about these areas, but she said with having my own experiences/knowledge it would be beneficial if I created a solution that let the young people see that they can go out and have a good time like any teenager but that they have to have their limits.  Generally she felt this was a good area to focus on, she recommended that I should introduce tattoo's also. As within her clinic the issues around tattoos would prop up a lot. She explained that within her clinic, if a young diabetic mentioned about getting a tattoo, she would ask them 'where are they getting it' instead of stating 'your not allowed a tattoo' due to diabetes.I personally have a tattoo which states that am a 'diabetic' I did these solely so that if any thing happened to me unexpectedly e.g. hypo , the people around me would know that am a diabetic and not drunk. Athinyaa mentioned that a lot of diabetics do that and its a way of expressing that there proud and that diabetes hasn't taken over their life, they can live a normal lifestyle like anyone.
3RD MARCH 2017
First Take Over Transition Event "Pizza Night"
Participating in the first take over transition event was actually really enjoyable for me as being a type 1 diabetic myself I barely know anyone else who has diabetes so it was quite fun to chat to other fellow diabetics and discuss our diabetes. There was also that feeling of being very welcomed especially when we was all checking out blood sugar levels and doing our insulin, no one was staring at us and that felt great.
So during this event me and my fellow design students where minute takers, taking down all the key words that the diabetics expressed when asked questions. This event allowed us to discover the areas in the transition process that need to be changed. There was a wide range of ages from 14 to 21 and over and diabetics from various ages from Derry to County Down. Parents and healthcare processionals where also present so this gave us the opportunity to gain their insight into the transition care stage too.From this event and chatting to fellow type 1 diabetics the point of "psychological support" was brought up a lot and "needing to vent" when I was chatting to those aged 18-21 with this being my target audience. They also mentioned the misunderstanding of type 1 this was highlighted by all ages. This event was great for gaining an insight into how not only the diabetics felt about the transition process but also the healthcare professionals and parents as they our part of many stages of a diabetics journey.This event gave me a lot to think amount when creating my animation and widening my understanding from others perspective.
31ST MARCH 2017
Second Take Over Transition Event "Pizza Night"
Unfortunately I was unable to attend the second event as I had under went surgery this week, so I had to recover and rest.But my fellow peers kept me up to date on what happened, so that I didn't miss out and as you can see here is a few sketches and ideas that came through this event.It highlighted about alcohol and challenges that adolescents go through during growing p with diabetes such as sexual health, and this is part of what my project is about so this linked in well.
