Real-time continuous glucose monitoring systems in the classroom/school environment

Children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) spend 4-7 h/day in school with very little supervision of their diabetes management. Therefore, families have become more dependent on technology, such as use of real-time continuous glucose monitoring (RT-CGM), to provide increased supervision of their diabetes management. We sought to assess the impact of RT-CGM use in the classroom/school environment.

Children with T1D using RT-CGM, their parents, and teachers completed a questionnaire about RT-CGM in the classroom/school environment.

The RT-CGM was tolerated well in the classroom/school environment. Seventy percent of parents, 75% of students, and 51% of teachers found RT-CGM useful in the classroom/school environment. The students found the device to be more disruptive than did their parents and teachers. However, all three groups agreed that RT-CGM increased their comfort with diabetes management at school.

Our study suggests that RT-CGM is useful and not disruptive in the classroom/school environment. The development of education materials for teachers could further increase its acceptance in the classroom/school environment.