My Diabetes and Me

Healthy Lifestyle Behaviours | Last Updated: 21 Apr 26

Background

Current national UK diabetes education programmes are not tailored to address the needs of people with intellectual disabilities, which include their cognitive and communication needs, low literacy skills and learning styles. This is despite NICE recommending that diabetes education should meet the specific needs of different populations. Evidence of the impact of diabetes education programmes on HbA1c is sparse. We aim to fill this gap by evaluating a type 2 diabetes education programme (DESMOND-ID) and to determine if it is clinically and cost effective compared to treatment as usual.

What we are doing

We aim to conduct a UK based, multi-centre, randomized control trial to determine the effectiveness of the DESMOND-ID programme on the HbA1c levels (primary outcome) and a range of secondary outcomes compared to treatment as usual.

The current study is the first to test the clinical and cost effectiveness of a psychoeducation intervention (DESMOND-ID) that can be delivered by a range of healthcare professionals which can help in the self-management of type 2 diabetes in people with intellectual disabilities, supported by a carer. We are in the data collection phase of the study.

Group member(s) involved in this research

Dr Maria Truesdale

Maria is a Senior Lecturer in Intellectual Disabilities at the University of Glasgow. Her goal is to improve the physical and mental health and wellbeing of people with learning disabilities and their carers through the evaluation, development and testing of complex interventions using gold standard methodology and inclusive research. Maria has conducted a number of trials using complex interventions in physical and mental health for people with learning disabilities and has played a central part in the development of a randomised control trial of the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the DESMOND-ID structured education programme for adults with learning disability and type 2 diabetes. This multi-site study is the largest funded trial internationally of a health behaviour intervention for people with an learning disability. Maria also supports the teaching and delivery of the Post Graduate Positive Behaviour Support programme and contributes to the supervision of University of Glasgow Postgraduate courses, namely MSc in Global Mental Health and MSc in Public Health. She is also the Mental Health and Wellbeing co-lead for Early Career Researchers. Recent and current projects have been funded by NIHR, ESRC (UK Research and Innovation), Baily Thomas Charitable Fund and The Burdett Trust for Nursing.