Approved Enhancing Emotional Experiences: A Journey Towards More Empathetic Diabetes-related Websites

Hello everyone,

I am thrilled to join this fantastic community on Diabetes.co.uk. My name is Zijie Xie, and I am a doctoral researcher at Loughborough University. Before I delve into the specifics of my work, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Diabetes.co.uk. Their support towards my research, in addition to their continuous endeavours to foster a nurturing space for those living with diabetes, is genuinely commendable.

My academic journey led me to investigate emotional experiences of interacting with diabetes-related websites. Our research primarily focuses on how the design and content of these websites can better cater to the emotional needs of individuals with diabetes. By understanding your experiences and needs, we can design better, more empathetic platforms that enhance your journey of understanding, managing, and living with diabetes.

But this research cannot succeed without your valuable contributions. It is your experiences, stories, and interactions that form the backbone of my research. So, I am here not just to share my work, but to listen, learn, and understand your perspective. I am eager to hear about your experiences - both positive and negative - with diabetes-related websites. How do these sites make you feel? What features do you find helpful or bothersome? What are your ideas for improvement?

Together, we can shape digital platforms to better support our emotional wellbeing, making the online journey of living with diabetes more positive, more informative, and less daunting.

Please feel free to connect with me directly or engage in any threads that I'll be initiating related to this topic. Your thoughts and suggestions will be invaluable in informing my research and contributing to the broader conversation around the emotional experience of diabetes management.

Thank you in advance for your time, insight, and for welcoming me into your community.

Best,

Zijie Xie | PhD Researcher
Loughborough University

jjraak said:

Hi

Interesting idea .

I suffered at DX I think.

Never paid too much attention to food & it's impact beyond weight

DX was 'oh by the way' sort
Left with a few leaflets.

Once home read up and was horrified .

If my experience might be of any use, please let me know.

As for websites, I personally found another one, less focused on what I believe is proven to be of value to many.(may have changed its tac, I left back in 2018)

On here I found the acceptance of low carb very supportive.

And that in itself eased my mind and left me more at ease I was making well informed decisions.

At risk of offending some, I did find that other forum less focused on T2.

Which given the risks to T1's is a much more serious immediate threat to many, seems sensible, but that fact however didn't help my need.

Hence why I carried on searching after becoming disillusioned at the advice offered ..

I'm not disputing it's worth, just being honest and saying that whatever dcuk is doing regarding a more dedicated line, for streaming advice, regarding each type of diabetes, it's very much more helpful to me & my needs.

Good luck in your research, much needed I'd say.

Click to expand...

Hi,

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and your thoughts about diabetes management and the resources you've found. Your perspective is incredibly valuable!

Our goal is to better understand the needs and experiences of individuals like you who are navigating diabetes-related websites in the UK. Your experiences and insights could greatly contribute to this understanding and help us make improvements.

I would love to invite you to participate in our study. As a participant, you would complete an online questionnaire and participate in an online interview. If you're interested, please take a look at my most recent post where you can find more details about the study and how to participate.

Again, thank you for your thoughtful message and for your well wishes for our research.