• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Anyone Else Asked For An Interview About This Forum?

Antje77

Antje77

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
21,153
Location
Friesland (the Netherlands)
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
I will be having a telephone interview next week about this forum. I seem to have filled out a survey some time ago (very likely, I like filling out surveys :P ) and have agreed on them contacting me. They did, and I will be speaking to this nice woman for about an hour about:

"In the interview I will ask you questions about how you participate to the forum and use the knowledge on the forum in managing diabetes. Your participation to the interview will help us better understand the impact and needs of diabetes online communities." (from the e-mail)

I'm not afraid I won't have anything sensible to say, but I might have even more sensible things to say with your input. After all, some times others have a way with words that expresses my thoughts much clearer than my own words.
Aside from this interview, I'm quite curious what other members of this forum would tell someone who asked them "how you participate to the forum and use the knowledge on the forum in managing diabetes".

So please share your thoughts!
 
You know I'll agree with you no matter what ;) Seriously, I'm too tired to have any good ideas, but do let us know how it went.
 
I was contacted by diabetes.co.uk press dept after they read something I wrote under the success stories thread. I gave my telephone number and we ended up having a chat for about half an hour about my journey and how this site had helped immensely. It's available 24/7. Always someone to answer your questions no matter how trivial they may seem. Lots of good advice. Simple explanations of a complex condition. Links to videos packed full of info facts and figures. Advice on which books to buy. General help. Friendly banter. I think the press office are doing a lot of great work behind the scenes pin getting the success stories out into the media. I'm going to be covering my journey in the local paper due to the press office. And hopefully national papers if I get very lucky! Spreading the LCHF word. And eat to your meter :)
 
Last edited:
Hi @Debandez, don’t wanna seem stupid but could you explain “eat to your meter” pls- if it just means only eat the things that you know won’t make your meter show a rise, then that’s ok but if it’s more complex than that can you let me know pls. Thanx sweetie.
 
flexi06 said:
Hi @Debandez, don’t wanna seem stupid but could you explain “eat to your meter” pls- if it just means only eat the things that you know won’t make your meter show a rise, then that’s ok but if it’s more complex than that can you let me know pls. Thanx sweetie.
Click to expand...
For me eat to your meter means test test test. See which foods don't spike you and keep you within the recommended 2 point rise (preferably back to base within 2 hours. And if that doesn't happen that food is normally taken off my list. That said i have tried it with different combinations which can have a positive effect. For example a cracker can put up my BS but if I eat it with lots of cheese it doesn't spike so much. Or with a glass of red. The cheese/wine makes the rise manageable so I'm able to enjoy a cracker. Everyone is different so that's why it's so important to test. Hope this helps.
 
Antje77 said:
I will be having a telephone interview next week about this forum. I seem to have filled out a survey some time ago (very likely, I like filling out surveys :P ) and have agreed on them contacting me. They did, and I will be speaking to this nice woman for about an hour about:

"In the interview I will ask you questions about how you participate to the forum and use the knowledge on the forum in managing diabetes. Your participation to the interview will help us better understand the impact and needs of diabetes online communities." (from the e-mail)

I'm not afraid I won't have anything sensible to say, but I might have even more sensible things to say with your input. After all, some times others have a way with words that expresses my thoughts much clearer than my own words.
Aside from this interview, I'm quite curious what other members of this forum would tell someone who asked them "how you participate to the forum and use the knowledge on the forum in managing diabetes".

So please share your thoughts!
Click to expand...

Hi Antje77, I am indebted to this forum and the groups I belong to;
I get knowledge, support and comradeship that I did not know I needed.
I get tips and help that are not easily available anywhere else.
I get answers to questions I did not even know I had.
I get pointed in the right direction with links and research and information.
I get humour or sympathy or cheerleaders whenever I need them.
I get answers (or help to find them) when there is nobody else to ask.
I love this forum and am eternally grateful for the daily benefits I get from it.
 
Antje77 said:
Telephone call with Roberta as well?
Click to expand...

Is Roberta Italian? I spoke to her about a year ago. If a question wasn't 100% clear or something I could interpret in more than one way, I just asked for further explanation. It avoided misinterpretation.
 
I have an invitation as well BUT
I received unprotected word documents and was asked to sign the consent form -
The security of this type of communication is non existent - If this comes from an university then please help the students!
This approach may contravene the new GDPR legislation - I have no messages from the university asking for my permission to retain any of my detail .

To demonstrate the poor security etc -
===========================================
This is a total scam - Signed Roberta Bernardi
upload_2018-6-25_22-26-49.png
===========================================

I would not recommend that anyone replies to any request from this organisation.
 
I have been part of a research project last year with Roberta Bernardi from the Royal Holloway University of London.
It was conducted at Diabetes.co.uk head office (we attended the offices for two separate sessions on two separate days), and I found it to be exceedingly well run and professional. The piece of research has since been published.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/th...aring-on-diabetes-online.122431/#post-1490957

This is a link to the report
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/in-depth... ID=5996052&utm_email name=DCUK+NL+-+26/09/17

There is a follow on piece of work extending the number of participants.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/survey-on-diabetes-co-uk-forum.130368/

The research has been through the Diabetes.co.uk approval process.
 
I was also interviewed over skype by Dr Bernardi and found both the questions and results quite interesting and revealed a few things about me that I had never noticed before.. Overall a worthwhile process and contributing to greater knowledge can never be a bad thing.
 
I won't add anything further in relation to Dr Bernardi's work (which I have also participated in, so can vouch for), but will say that should any member, at any time, have concerns over any approach made to them via open forum, or in PM, then they should hit the Report button below every single post and every single message in a PM chain.

Should the member not want to do that, then they should email [email protected] and any concerns will be investigated thoroughly.

DCUK does support students and researchers in their work, in certain circumstances, and an approvals loop exists for that. DCUK also has a press office of their own, which works to raise the profile of diabetes, expel myths and raise awareness. From time to time, they may approach members for interviews.

When a DCUK team member approadches a member via the forum, their profile livery will be in purple, as opposed to the other colourways used on the forum. Team meber @Dajana 's profile looks like this:
upload_2018-6-26_9-1-17.png

I hope some of that helps, but the underlying message is if you have concerns, please raise them by hitting Report or emailing forum@ . Those steps bring the issue into immediate visibility of the Mod and Admin Teams.

Many thanks.
 
Last edited:
I liked Roberta just fine, although with me being Dutch and her being Italian and having a very high voice (I'm afraid high notes don't work so well anymore in my ears), there was a lot of 'excuse me's' and 'sorry, what did you says'. I think she had some sort of question list, but with a lot of room for new questions about my answers, very nice.
 
Yep, all on the level.:cool:

I attended the Royal Holloway research study with Roberta Bernardi last year, too @DCUK HQ.

Along with @Pipp @JohnEGreen ..

Just don't use any car analogies... "Radweld!" ;) :)
 
Had my phone call with Roberta this afternoon. She was interested in why I didn't complete the diabetes course, told her that I disagreed with most of the diet instruction and why I shouldn't be testing my BG. She had some questions about information about diabetes from GP, there was none. She asked about information from DN, again not much to write home about. She seemed pleased that the Low Carb Program has been adopted by NHS.. Had short chat about some of my heroes, that are not on this site, Aseem Malhotra, Tim Noakes etc. Quite a few questions on how I use this site, do I contribute, anybody special that is truly helpful, without naming names, anybody who is not helpful.
 
Back
Top