Computer-based remote diabetes education for school personnel

Teachers are expected to respond quickly and accurately to any diabetes incident that may occur to children in the school setting. Access to diabetes information is crucial for student safety, health, academic achievement, and social competence. This paper describes a technique to provide Web-based diabetes information using computer audio and video to enrich a text-based training experience. Two groups of teachers were presented with diabetes training material via either paper or a Web-based computer system. Both groups were then evaluated for diabetes knowledge and satisfaction. Subjects using the Web-based system had significantly (t = 2.22; p < 0.033) higher knowledge scores (72.5% versus 66.4% correct) and were significantly (t = 3.9; p < 0.001) more satisfied with the training session (4.2 versus 3.1 on a five-point scale) than subjects who used paper documents traditionally used for teacher training. With the advantages in learning and the reduced cost of a Web-based system, diabetes distance education is a viable and desirable alternative to paper-based diabetes education.