Resources for Health Professionals

  On this page:

• Starter Kit for Newly-Diagnosed Adults
• Type 1 Diabetes Network Postcard
• Statement of Issues affecting Australians with Type 1 Diabetes - 2008
• Online Learning Module for Health Professionals
• Pregnancy and Diabetes Booklet
• Fact Sheets to download
• Abstracts and Research Papers 
• Transition Clinic Project
• Assistance recruiting for your research projects
• Reality Check website promotional materials
• Yada Yada : free email newsletter

Starter Kit for Newly-Diagnosed Adults with Type 1 Diabetes

Available free of charge to diabetes specialist health professionals who work to educate adults in the initial stages after a diagnosis with Type 1 diabetes.

A4 sized, 42-page book with a cover that allows addition of local or patient-specific resources.

Diabetes Centres> Order Form
Specialist diabetes health professionals who work directly with people in the initial phase after diagnosis can be sent the Kits free of charge to pass to their patients/clients.

Other option> Purchase $12 each
If you wish to obtain the Kits for any other purpose, such as a library or reference or teaching tool, please visit out Online Store to purchase them for $12 each (inc. postage).

Download the Starter Kit as a PDF

 Starter Kit - 3rd Edition - 2011

Further information:

• Preview entire contents on the dedicated website: Starter Kit 
  
• Read about the consultation, research and evaluation undertaken with funding from the Federal government department of Health & Ageing to develop the Starter Kit in the ADEA magazine:
  A Reality Check from those in the know ...
  The Australian Diabetes Educator, Vol 9.2, June 2006.
• See the 224 centres currently using the Starter Kit .
• Thanks to Abbott Diabetes Care for their generous support of the printing and distribution of the Starter Kit in 2005-10.

Type 1 Diabetes Network Postcard 

Available FREE of charge to Diabetes Specialist Health Professionals who work with people living withType 1 Diabetes.

A5 doubled sided postcard that provides contact details for the Type 1 Diabetes website.

Contact Colleen at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to order.

A Statement of Issues Affecting Australians with Type 1 Diabetes

Throughout 2008, the major diabetes organisations, health professional bodies,
industry groups, people with Type 1 Diabetes and parents of children with Type 1
Diabetes have worked together to identify the key issues which need to be
addressed and to develop solutions to improve health outcomes for people with Type
1 Diabetes in Australia.

Senator Guy Barnett, Senator for Tasmania and also a Type 1 Diabetic, launched the
Statement today at the Australian Diabetes Society and Australian Diabetes
Educators Association Annual Scientific Meeting. Senator Barnett said he was
concerned about the poor health outcomes in Australians with Type 1 Diabetes and
that the statement represents a step in the right direction for improving services and
health outcomes for all Australians with Type 1 Diabetes. Read more ...

 For more Information on the Issues Statement

Click the Image or Click Statement_of_Issues_affecting_Australians_with_Type_1_Diabetes to see it.

 Online Learning Module for Health Professionals

 This Learning Module was developed to help health professionals better understand the day to day complexities of Living with Type 1 Diabates.Read More ...

Access the Module directly here : Online Learning Module

Pregnancy and Diabetes Booklet

Small, A5 sized booklet with 22 pages of information from pre-conception planning through to labour, delivery, breastfeeding and future health. Based on the ADIPS Consensus Guidelines.

Jointly written and published by the Type 1 Diabetes Network with Australasian Diabetes in Pregnancy Society and Diabetes Australia-Victoria.

For enquiries, please email  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  

Health professionals -
To order bulk copies, please contact your local Diabetes Australia office on 1300 136 588.  

To download and preview the booklet click here,  Can I Have a Healthy Baby ?

Fact Sheets

Reality Check has developed fact sheets out of our most popular resources for health professionals to download and reproduce free of charge when used for education of people with diabetes.

Click on each title below to begin downloading the fact sheet. They are all small PDF files and will download quickly.

* Lantus and Levemir New long-acting insulins here at last!

* Living in London and UK : A Quick Guide for Australians moving over

* Travel with Diabetes

* Ketones and DKA

* Insulin Delivery Options : Pens, Syringes, Pumps and more

* Alcohol and Diabetes

* Hormones and Girl Stuff (inc. Pregnancy)

* How much will it cost ?
Includes accessing subsidies and fiinancial support

* Real stories of adults diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes

* Necrobiosis - the rare skin complication

* Cheat Sheet for Family and Friends - to explain Type 1 diabetes

* Living with Complications - interviews and experiences

* Medical Expenses & Tax Time - what and how to claim

>> OR Download ALL the Fact Sheets together (PDF, 1.8MB)

Abstracts and Papers

The Type 1 Diabetes Network has presented abstracts and papers at national and international conferences about our work with adults with Type 1 diabetes, and original research into their use and experiences of health services, which are available for download here.

@ Connecting for Health and Wellbeing Forum, Melbourne, April 2009

Connecting Communities Online Cheaper and bigger, or narrower and riskier? Workshop slides (9 pages, PDF, 933KB) 

@ Australasian Paediatric Endocrine Group, Canberra, November 2008

The patient perspective on care of Type 1 Diabetes
Address to the APEG conference, Parliament House, 17 November 2008
(link to webpage of speech with slides)

A national study of the consumer journey through the transition from paediatric to adult diabetes services demonstrates the complexity of choice and access  (Poster, PDF, 996KB)

@ Australian Diabetes Educators Association, Melbourne, August 2008

The impact of Diabetes Nurse Educators on complication screening, self-management practices and access to new treatments amongst Australian adults with Type 1 Diabetes
(Poster, PDF, 1.3MB)
Authors: K. Gilbert, M. Seed, S. Thornley

DIABETES BURNOUT: Adults with Type 1 Diabetes describe specific symptoms and successful strategies for prevention and management  (Poster, PDF, 475KB)
Authors: K. Gilbert, S. Dodson

@ Australian Society for Psychological Research into Diabetes, Melbourne, August 2008

DIABETES BURNOUT: Adults with Type 1 Diabetes describe specific symptoms and successful strategies for prevention and management  (Presentation slides, PDF, 156KB)
Authors: K. Gilbert, S. Dodson

@ Health Services & Policy Research Conference, Auckland, December 2007

Australasian young adults’ Transition from paediatric to adult Diabetes Services: a complex picture of choice and access
(Abstract, PDF, 80KB)
Authors: K. Gilbert, M. Seed,

Full Presentation: View here (PDF, 266 KB)

@ World Diabetes Congress, Cape Town, December 2006

Non-adherence to the ‘traditional model’ of medical management in Australian adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus and its impact on complication screening and self-management (Abstract-Presentation, WDC website)
Authors: K. Gilbert, S. Thornley, J. Kilmartin, G. Kilmartin

Full WDC Presentation: View here ... (PDF, 240 KB)

Perceived and actual information needs of adults at diagnosis with type 1 diabetes (Abstract-Poster, WDC website)
Authors: K. Gilbert, R. Millard

@ Australasian Medical Writers Association, Sydney, September 2006

Seed, M., Gilbert, K., Creating Truly Patient Centred Information: Case studies from diabetes, Australasian Medical Writers Association, 2006.

@ Australian Diabetes Educators Association conference, Gold Coast, August 2006

Gilbert, K., Millard, R., The benefits of collaboration as demonstrated through the development of a Starter Kit for Adults with Type 1 diabetes, Australian Diabetes Educators Association, 2006.

Full ADEA presentation : View here (PDF, 360KB)

@ Australasian Diabetes in Pregnancy Society, Gold Coast, August 2006

Gilbert, K., Scibilia, R., Lagstrom, J., Parry, A., Evaluating a consumer resource about pregnancy for women with pre-existing diabetes, and investigating further information needs , Australasian Diabetes in Pregnancy Society, 2006.

Full ADIPS presentation : View here (PDF, 436KB)

This presentation received the ADIPS Graz Clock Prize for best Educational Presentation at the 2006 ADIPS conference.

@ Australian Diabetes Educator, June 2006

Gilbert, K., A reality check from those in the know, The Australian Diabetes Educator, Vol 9.2, June 2006.

Gilbert, K., Millard, R., A Starter Kit for adults diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, Australian Diabetes Educators Association, 2004.

Gilbert, K., Colman, P., Steele, C., Millard, R., Real Transition: a young people-led research project to improve attendance at 'transition' clinics , Australian Diabetes Educators Association, 2004.

Gilbert, K., Young people with diabetes and the internet - a perfect match!, Health Education Association of Victoria, 2000.

Reddrop, N., Type 1 diabetes - every hour, every day. Diabetes Management Journal, Sept 2010

Survey of T1DN members: What would you like Health Professionals to know about Type 1 ?   March 2011. Research by N Reddrop,

For more articles about Reality Check's work, see In the Media .

Transition Clinics

In 2003-04 Reality Check ran a project with funding from the Federal government to identify tangible, cost-effective improvements to the ways 'transition clinics' are run in major public hospitals - from the view of the young adult patients.

Our findings from this project are published, together with resources for download, in this article:
Real Transition: Findings 2004

Recruiting for Research Projects

We are pleased to support researchers and students to recruit participants through our membership for quality research into Type 1 diabetes and the experience of living with the condition.

Please consult our page of information about the assistance we can provide and the process for obtaining support:

Recruiting Research Participants

T1DN (Type 1 Diabetes Neywork) Promotional Materials

If you would like to tell your patients or colleagues about the Reality Check and Munted Pancreas websites, we have some resources that you can copy and distribute:

Website Flyer(as pictured)
Click on the link above to download, then print in colour OR black and white. Keep as A4 or reduce to A5.

Diabetes Management Journal July 08 1.08 Mb(as pictured)
June 2008

Yada Yada: free newsletter

For news and views for and by adults with diabetes, additions to our website and upcoming events, health professionals are welcome to subscribe to The Type 1 Diabetes Network's monthly email newsletter below.

The newsletter is written predominantly for adults with Type 1 diabetes, but health professionals are welcome to subscribe as well.