DiaGoals
Helping children with Type 1 Diabetes build healthier habits through goal setting and positive reinforcement
The challenge
Children living with Type 1 Diabetes need to monitor multiple aspects of their health every day, including nutrition, physical activity, sleep and insulin management. However, existing approaches often rely on repetitive self-reporting, making long-term engagement difficult.
The challenge was to design a mobile application that would encourage children and teenagers to actively participate in their own diabetes management while supporting healthy daily habits.
Methods
Desk Research, Literature Review, Focus Groups, Workshop with Teenagers, Persona Development, Design Patterns, Lo-Fi Prototyping, Usability Testing, Hi-Fi Prototyping, Expert Evaluation, iOS Development
Team
Darina Akhmetzyanova, Monaliisa Murs, Gulassyl Amirgaliyeva
Developer: Hadi Ashraf Raja
Duration
3 Months
Research
The project combined behavioural research, workshops, focus groups and usability testing to understand how children and teenagers manage Type 1 Diabetes, what challenges they face in their daily routines, and how a mobile application could better support long-term self-management.
→ Literature review
The project started with research on behaviour change theories, diabetes management, self-tracking, gamification, goal setting, education and social support. The research helped identify effective ways to support long-term engagement and guided the design of the application.
→ COM-B behaviour analysis
The project explored why children find diabetes self-management difficult and how design could better support them. The COM-B Behaviour Model was used to organise the research around three factors that influence behaviour:
- Capability — having the knowledge and skills to manage diabetes.
- Opportunity — having the right environment, support and daily routines.
- Motivation — being willing to continue healthy behaviours over time.
The research findings were then used to identify design solutions, including reminders, goal setting, rewards, educational content and social support.
→ Focus groups with doctors and parents
Focus groups with doctors and parents explored the everyday challenges of managing Type 1 Diabetes. The findings showed difficulties with daily routines, remembering important tasks, staying motivated and developing healthy habits. These findings helped guide the design of the app.
→ Workshop with teenagers living with type 1 diabetes
A workshop with 18 teenagers at a Diabetes Camp explored what they found most important to track when managing diabetes. The findings helped identify the most important app features, focusing on nutrition, physical activity, sleep and goal setting.
→ Persona development
Findings from the focus groups, teenager workshop, and literature review informed the creation of two data-driven personas. Each persona represented a different behavioural challenge identified through the COM-B model, helping guide design decisions based on real user needs.
Key Insights
→ Self-tracking only works when it reflects everyday life
During the workshop, teenagers chose nutrition, physical activity, sleep and personal goals as the most important things to track because they can change every day. Family support and knowledge were seen as less useful for daily tracking because they do not change as often. This finding helped focus the app on daily habits rather than tracking all aspects of diabetes management.
→ Building routines is more difficult than understanding diabetes
Parents and healthcare professionals explained that many children know what they should do but find it difficult to follow daily routines. Forgetting tasks and having irregular schedules were common problems that made diabetes self-management more difficult.
→ Motivation changes with age
The research showed clear differences between younger children and teenagers. Younger children respond better to playful activities and learning through experience, while teenagers prefer visible progress, achievements and goals. This showed the need for different ways to motivate children depending on their age.
→ Education is most effective when delivered in context
The literature review showed that learning should be part of daily diabetes management. Connecting goals with relevant articles and resources can help children understand why certain habits are important for managing diabetes.
→ Diabetes management is a shared experience
The literature review and focus groups showed that family, friends and healthcare professionals play an important role in supporting children with Type 1 Diabetes. Social support can help children stay motivated, follow healthy routines and manage diabetes in everyday life.
Design Solutions
Research showed that children and teenagers needed more than a tool to record their health—they needed support in remembering routines, staying motivated, understanding their condition, and building healthy habits.
→ Goal-Setting system
Problem – Children and teenagers find it difficult to maintain healthy routines and set achievable goals.
Solution – The app allows users to choose from predefined goals or create their own personalised goals across different categories.
→ Reminders and routine support
Problem – Children often forget daily routines, such as meals, physical activity and diabetes-related tasks.
Solution – Time-based reminders help users remember and maintain both daily and weekly goals.
→ Gamified motivation
Problem – Younger users find it difficult to stay motivated and need regular encouragement and positive feedback.
Solution – A capybara companion, achievement badges, and congratulatory feedback were introduced to make goal completion more engaging and rewarding.
→ Integrated educational support
Problem – Some young patients lack practical knowledge about managing diabetes and how their daily habits affect their health.
Solution – Educational articles and resources are integrated into the app and linked directly to relevant goals, helping users understand the purpose behind each activity.
Usability Testing
The concept was evaluated through two rounds of usability testing with both target users and an experienced diabetes patient. The low-fidelity prototype was tested with two teenagers living with Type 1 Diabetes. Both participants successfully completed all usability tasks and found the interface easy to navigate.
The high-fidelity prototype was then evaluated with a diabetes expert who had lived with Type 1 Diabetes for over 30 years. While the overall experience was considered intuitive and user-friendly, the evaluation identified several opportunities to strengthen the concept, such as improving goal progress visualisation, introducing automatic goal suggestions, supporting insulin pump integration, and providing additional emotional support for newly diagnosed children and teenagers.
Outcome
The project showed how behavioural design can help children and teenagers develop healthier diabetes self-management habits. The concept combined goal setting, reminders, educational content, personalised feedback and positive reinforcement to address the main challenges identified during the research.
The final outcome was a high-fidelity prototype and the first iOS implementation of DiaGoals, showing how behaviour change theory can be used to support long-term diabetes self-management.