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 began with an extensive review of behavioural change theories, paediatric diabetes management, self-tracking, gamification, goal-setting strategies, educational interventions and social support systems. The research established the theoretical foundation for the application and identified evidence-based approaches for increasing long-term engagement.
→ COM-B behaviour analysis
The project explored why children find diabetes self-management challenging before translating those insights into design solutions. To guide the research, the COM-B Behaviour Model was used—a behavioural science framework explaining how three factors influence behaviour:
- Capability — having the knowledge and skills to manage diabetes.
- Opportunity — having the right environment, support, and daily routines.
- Motivation — maintaining the willingness to continue healthy behaviours over time.
Using this framework, research findings were organised into behavioural challenges and translated into practical design solutions, including reminders, goal setting, rewards, educational content, and social support features.
→ Focus groups with doctors and parents
Focus groups with doctors and parents explored the everyday challenges of managing Type 1 Diabetes. The findings highlighted difficulties with maintaining routines, remembering daily tasks, staying motivated, and building healthy self-management habits, providing a foundation for the app’s behavioural design.
→ Workshop with teenagers living with type 1 diabetes
A participatory workshop with 18 teenagers attending a Diabetes Camp explored which aspects of diabetes management they considered most valuable to track. The findings directly informed feature prioritisation, focusing the app 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 consistently chose to track nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and personal goals—factors that naturally change from day to day. In contrast, aspects perceived as constant, such as family support or knowledge, were considered less meaningful for daily tracking. This finding shaped the app around daily habits rather than comprehensive health logging.
→ Building routines is more difficult than understanding diabetes
Parents and healthcare professionals explained that many children already know what they should do but struggle to remember routines and consistently apply that knowledge in everyday situations. Forgetfulness and irregular schedules were identified as recurring barriers to effective self-management.
→ Motivation changes with age
The research revealed clear differences between younger children and teenagers. While younger children benefit from playful interactions and learning through experience, teenagers respond better to recognition, visible achievements, and goal-oriented feedback. This highlighted the need for age-appropriate motivational strategies rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
→ Education is most effective when delivered in context
Rather than separating learning from self-management, the literature review suggested that educational content should become part of the user’s daily experience. Linking goals with relevant articles and resources helps children understand why specific behaviours contribute to better diabetes management.
→ Diabetes management is a shared experience
Both the literature review and focus groups highlighted the importance of family, peers, and healthcare professionals in supporting children with Type 1 Diabetes. Social support was identified as an important factor influencing adherence, motivation, and emotional wellbeing, suggesting that self-management should not rely on the child alone.
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. These insights directly shaped the final design solutions below.
→ Goal-Setting system
Problem – Children and teenagers found it difficult to maintain healthy routines, and some struggled to set realistic and achievable goals.
Solution – The app allows users to choose from predefined goals or create their own personalised goals across categories including Nutrition, Activity, Sleep, and Mental Health.
→ Reminders and routine support
Problem – Forgetting daily routines, such as meals, physical activity, or diabetes-related tasks, was identified as one of the main barriers during the research.
Solution – Time-based reminders help users remember and maintain both daily and weekly goals.
→ Gamified motivation
Problem -Maintaining long-term motivation was difficult, especially for younger users who needed encouragement and positive reinforcement.
Solution – A capybara companion, achievement badges, and congratulatory feedback were introduced to make goal completion more engaging and rewarding.
→ Integrated educational support
Problem -Research showed that some young patients lacked practical knowledge about diabetes management and how daily behaviours 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. Beyond validating the core user flow, the sessions revealed opportunities for future improvements, including insulin pump integration, blood glucose-related goals, and the option to disable the Capybara companion.
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 demonstrated how behavioural design principles can be translated into a digital experience that supports children and teenagers in building healthier self-management habits. By combining goal setting, reminders, educational content, personalised feedback, and positive reinforcement, the concept addressed key behavioural challenges identified during the research.
Usability testing showed that participants found the application easy to use and engaging, while also identifying opportunities for future improvements, including insulin pump integration, enhanced goal visualisation, and additional support for children and teenagers who are newly diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.
The final outcome was a research-informed high-fidelity prototype together with the first iOS implementation of DiaGoals, demonstrating how behaviour change theory can be applied to support long-term diabetes self-management.