Patient perceptions of insulin therapy in diabetes self-management with insulin injection devices

AIMS: Several insulin delivery systems are available to control glycemia in patients with diabetes. Recently introduced devices feature connectivity enabling data transfer to smartphone applications to provide decision support and reduce errors in dosing and timing, while reducing the cognitive burden. METHODS: We conducted an online survey in Italian patients with a self-reported diagnosis of diabetes to assess patient perceptions of insulin therapy management, and their impressions of connection-enabled insulin pens compared to standard insulin pens. The Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 was used to assess adherence to insulin therapy. RESULTS: Among 223 respondents (108 with type 1 diabetes; 115 with type 2 diabetes), the most prominent unmet need was the necessity to overcome the cognitive burden of care associated with measuring, calculating, timing, and recording therapy. Only 25% of respondents had high adherence; 28% had low adherence. CONCLUSIONS: When asked to compare the attributes of a non-connected insulin pen with those of a new connected device, 71% of patients rated the new proposal “very useful”. The cognitive burden associated with self-management of diabetes therapy may influence preferences for advanced insulin delivery systems. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00592-023-02054-7.