Insulin pump access issues for visually impaired people with type 1 diabetes.

BACKGROUND

An electronic literature search was conducted to determine suitability of insulin pumps for people with type 1 diabetes who have visual impairment.

METHODS

Ovid MEDLINE and CINAHL databases as well as the Internet were searched. Search terms used were insulin pump therapy, continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion, blindness, vision disorders, visually impaired persons and low vision. Only two relevant articles were identified regarding accessibility issues for insulin pump use by vision-impaired people with diabetes.

RESULTS

Insulin pumps currently available do not have features that are sufficiently compatible with severely visually impaired people. None have speech output, user guides in Braille or accessible diabetes software for personal computers and only one pump has good visual display characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS

As serious health consequences can result from improper use of insulin pumps, industry should design pumps with features that can be safely and easily accessed by people with severe vision loss.