# Optimizing diabetes technology use for Latinx youth through DREAM (Device use Reimagined through Education And Mentorship) virtual peer groups

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2023 · $499,487

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Strict glycemic control is critical for optimal type 1 diabetes (T1D) outcomes but remains challenging for youth 
from historically marginalized ethnic groups, in whom hemoglobin A1c (A1c) levels are consistently the highest 
in the nation. In California, Latinx youth are the largest marginalized ethnic group with T1D, but they 
experience less optimal glycemic control than their White counterparts. Continuous glucose monitoring, insulin 
pumps, and automated insulin delivery systems can assist with achievement of target A1c levels, but Latinx 
youth have lower rates of diabetes device use compared to White youth. Virtual peer groups (VPGs) can 
improve patient engagement and diabetes self-care in Latinx youth, and preliminary data suggest that VPGs 
may increase the use of diabetes technology in this population. Jenise Wong, MD PhD, and Jennifer 
Raymond, MD MCR, propose this project grant with the objective to increase the adoption and sustained use 
of diabetes devices in Latinx adolescents with T1D by engaging them and their families in the development 
and evaluation of a VPG intervention designed to improve technology use. This project will engage multiple 
stakeholders (patients, families, health care workers) from three clinic populations in California (Children’s 
Hospital of Los Angeles, University of California Davis, and University of California San Francisco) and result in 
the DREAM (Device use Reimagined through Education And Mentorship) program. In collaboration with a 
multidisciplinary team of pediatric endocrinologists, psychologists, and public health experts, the researchers 
propose a project with the following aims: (1) partner with stakeholders to adapt a virtual peer group model to 
promote the initiation and continued use of diabetes technology among Latinx adolescents with T1D, (2) 
evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of DREAM in a single arm, pragmatic trial, and (3) assess the effect of 
DREAM on clinical and patient-centered outcomes. These aims will be addressed in a formative phase and a 
clinical trial phase. In Phase 1, the research team will address Aim 1 by engaging stakeholders in focus groups 
and semi-structured interviews to obtain qualitative data that will directly inform the design of the DREAM 
VPGs and the clinical trial. A subset of stakeholders will form Advisory Councils who will provide longitudinal 
input during the clinical trial. In Phase 2, the research team will conduct a single arm, pragmatic trial of the 
DREAM intervention in 120 Latinx youth aged 13 to <18 years with T1D, recruited from three pediatric diabetes 
clinic populations in California. To address Aim 2, the researchers will collect qualitative feedback from focus 
groups and quantitative data on VPG feasibility, appropriateness, and acceptability as primary outcomes. 
Preliminary data on clinical outcomes of A1c and hospital utilization, and patient-centered outcomes will be 
assessed to address Ai...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10708963
- **Project number:** 5R01DK135000-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Jennifer K Raymond
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $499,487
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-22 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10708963

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10708963, Optimizing diabetes technology use for Latinx youth through DREAM (Device use Reimagined through Education And Mentorship) virtual peer groups (5R01DK135000-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10708963. Licensed CC0.

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