Experiential knowledge and peer support in type 1 diabetes: insights from endurance running communities

Résumé fourni par la source

Background: Managing type 1 diabetes (T1D) during endurance running requires highly individualized strategies, yet conventional healthcare offers limited sport-specific guidance. Peer communities have emerged as key sources of experiential knowledge, emotional support, and practical tools. Objective: To explore how endurance runners with T1D build self-management strategies, use peer networks and digital platforms, and integrate these exchanges into identity and daily life. Methods: Thirteen French-speaking adults with T1D who had completed at least one marathon or ultra-endurance event participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using constructivist grounded theory. Two patient contributors living with T1D supported interpretation and writing. COREQ guidelines were followed. Results: Peer communities operated as informal educational systems that transformed individual trial-and-error into shared, actionable knowledge. Digital platforms provided rapid troubleshooting, reflective tools, and distributed mentorship. Role models facilitated confidence, self-efficacy, and identity reconstruction. Despite strong collective dynamics, management remained highly individualized through context-aware "micro-protocols" developed via safe experimentation and peer comparison. Conclusion: Peer communities play a central role in translating clinical recommendations into real-world endurance strategies. Integrating peer mentoring, digital literacy, and structured reflective practice into patient education may enhance personalization and confidence for people living with T1D. Innovation: This study demonstrates how communities of practice and digital infrastructures can support experiential learning in high-variability contexts and illustrates the contribution of patient partners to qualitative analysis and manuscript co-construction. Patient or public contribution: Two individuals living with T1D contributed to interpretation and writing, ensuring relevance and accessibility for the patient community.

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