Retrospective Pilot Feedback Survey of 200 Users of the AIDA Version 4 Educational Diabetes Program. 17—Quantitative Survey Data

Abstract

This column reports a detailed, questionnaire-based, post-release feedback survey of 200 users of the AIDA version 4 educational diabetes simulator. AIDA is a freeware computer program that permits the interactive simulation of plasma insulin and blood glucose profiles for educational, demonstration, self-learning, and research purposes. Since its Internet launch in 1996 over 700,000 visits have been logged to the AIDA Websites-including www.2aida.org-and over 200,000 program copies have been downloaded free-of-charge. The main goals of the current study were: (1) to establish what people have thought about the AIDA program, (2) to assess the utility of the software, and (3) to ascertain how much people have actually used it. An analysis was therefore undertaken of the first 200 feedback forms that were returned by AIDA users. The questionnaire-based survey methodology was found to be robust and reliable. Feedback forms were received from participants in 21 countries. One hundred six of 209 responses (50.7%) were received from people with diabetes, and 36 of 209 (17.2%) from relatives of patients, with lesser numbers from doctors, students, diabetes educators, nurses, pharmacists, and other end users. Please note some respondents fulfilled more than one end-user category, hence the denominator <200; for example, someone with diabetes who was also a doctor. This study has established the feasibility of using a simple feedback form to survey a substantial number of diabetes software users. In addition, it has yielded interesting data in terms of who are the main users of the AIDA program, and has also provided technical (computer) information that has aided the release of a freeware upgrade to the software. In general, users reported finding the program to be of educational value. The majority also felt it would be of interest to diabetes educators and people with diabetes. Most were clear about its limitations as a simulator-based learning tool. The implications of these findings will be discussed.

Diabetes: Models, Signals, and Control

“…Some good examples on simulators being an efficient library of physiological knowledge are [124]–[126]. …”

Outpatient Assessment of Karlsburg Diabetes Management System–Based Decision Support

“…Among these advisory systems, KADIS, AIDA (Diabetic Software Simulation Program), and the Diabetes Advisory System (DIAS) are the only interactive model-based systems focused on interactive simulation of insulin/glucose profiles (9,10,12). While AIDA is a freeware computer program for educational purposes (9), DIAS can be used to predict the effects of changes in insulin dose or food intake (10).…”

Dynamic Interactive Educational Diabetes Simulations Using the World Wide Web: An Experience of More Than 15 Years with AIDA Online

“…Furthermore, upgrades to AIDA online require only one version of the program to be changed, and these changes then automatically become accessible to anyone from anywhere in the world. In addition, many users have asked for a windows-based, mouse-controlled “point and click” version of AIDA [54]. AIDA online provides just such an easy to use simulator with a standard user interface accessible in a familiar web browser format.…”

“…However, potentially one web-based server could have difficulty supporting the extent of usage which has been reported with the downloadable AIDA PC software. For instance, a detailed survey of AIDA v4 users has revealed that 16,790 simulations were run by 200 users [54]. Over a similar period—around the same time—over 16,700 downloads of the AIDA PC software were logged at the main AIDA website.…”

“…Over a comparable two-year period, based on the AIDA v4 PC survey data [54], AIDA online would have needed to support roughly 23 times as many simulations (approximately 58,300 simulations/month) to run as many simulations as are estimated to have been executed by the AIDA PC software. This would equate to approximately 14 Gb of data traffic per month (23 × 610 Mb).…”