Friendships and type 1 diabetes research study

Hi everyone,

I’m a psychology graduate student at Boston University doing my dissertation research on community supports. I’m trying to learn what aspects of social connections are the most powerful in helping people with various illnesses stay psychologically healthy and be able to enjoy life. Also, I’m interested in learning whether these are the same or different for people experiencing a primarily physiological illness (like diabetes) versus a primarily psychiatric illness. It’s my hope that getting more scientific proof of the importance of social support in managing these various conditions will increase everyone’s (including healthcare providers) awareness and valuing of the resources out there. I also hope that what I learn will be able to help the development of better treatments/resources in the future.

This is clearly a wonderful community of people who are interested in sharing information and helping each other out. Would any of you who are in the Boston, MA area be interested in participating in my study?

I am looking for people who are between 16-30 years old and have been diagnosed with Type I diabetes in the past five years. The study involves one meeting of about 2 hours – mostly interviews and questionnaires (no drugs or medical procedures). I keep everything strictly confidential (interviews will only have codes on them and any articles or presentations will be based only on aggregate data). I have no financial interests in the study and no involvement with anyone who would. Participants are compensated $30 for their time and contribution.

If you’re interested, please free to contact me here or by email at yleung@bidmc.harvard.edu. You can also go to the study website for more details at http://diabetesresearchstudy.org/.

Thanks very much!
Jude