Digital healthcare and technology are finding novel roles in the evolving world of diabetes distress. From integration in electronic health records (EHRs) to mobile support and family interventions, technology is poised to identify and ease the burden of diabetes distress.

“This is such an exciting time in diabetes distress research,” said Anna Kahkoska, MD, PhD, the Joan Heckler Gillings Assistant Professor of Nutrition at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Public Health. “Technology has become a central aspect of diabetes self-management and care, as the field has also recognized diabetes distress as a prevalent and clinically important phenomenon that must be addressed. Innovations where those trends intersect offer exciting solutions to enhance detection and treatment, ultimately reaching new populations living with elevated diabetes distress.”

At the symposium, Harnessing Technology to Tackle Diabetes Distress: Innovations Across Diabetes Types and Life Stages, on Sunday, June 7 from 8:00–9:30 a.m. in room R05 of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, speakers will address the role of technology in diabetes distress management for type 1 and type 2 diabetes. On-demand access to recorded presentations will be available to registered participants following the conclusion of the 2026 Scientific Sessions, from June 10–August 10.

Current guidelines recommend a screen-to-treat model for diabetes distress, explained Dr. Kahkoska, who will focus on how to integrate diabetes distress screening into clinical workflows by leveraging EHRs.

“There are challenges to diabetes distress screening efforts that rely on paper instruments,” she said. “It is difficult to keep forms organized, to make sure that information gets to the provider at the right time, and to track diabetes distress levels over time.”

Adding a validated diabetes distress assessment instrument to an individual’s electronic check-in at the clinic can bring diabetes distress into the clinical realm without adding an additional burden on healthcare professionals. Knowing a person’s diabetes distress level coming into a visit can help clinicians better personalize care and prioritize conversations to address diabetes distress. Those conversations can also help the people being treated to understand options to participate in research studies focused on diabetes distress.

“We are excited about building diabetes distress screening into the EHR and clinical workflow so diabetes care providers have access to the information alongside all the other data,” Dr. Kahkoska said.

Her efforts to translate diabetes distress screening into clinical care have been supported by a Pathway to Stop Diabetes^® grant from the American Diabetes Association^® (ADA).

“We are using our electronic screening build as a recruitment pipeline for a pragmatic clinical trial testing different approaches to treating diabetes distress in adults living with type 1 diabetes,” she explained. “We are especially interested in learning which approaches work best for different kinds of people.”

To facilitate conversations with people experiencing diabetes distress, an on-screen pop-up for the clinician introduces the concept, explains why it’s important, and provides more information about treatment options available to participants in the study.

“We hope that this example of electronic screening can catalyze future applications of technology to increase access to diabetes distress screening and treatment for the large number of people who experience distress that remains undetected and unaddressed,” Dr. Kahkoska said.

Also during this symposium:

• Marisa Kostiuk, PhD, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Colorado, will discuss the latest technology-supported workflows and artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to address diabetes distress in primary care settings.

• Tricia Tang, PhD, Rpsych, Associate Professor of Endocrinology at the University of British Columbia, Canada, will explore recent findings in the use of mobile health to address diabetes distress in rural and remote communities.

• Susana R. Patton, PhD, CDCES, Center Director and Principal Research Scientist at Nemours Center for Healthcare Delivery Science in Florida, and Professor of Pediatrics at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, will address the practical implications from a digital intervention trial for diabetes distress in families of school-aged youth with type 1 diabetes.

Register On-site for the 2026 Scientific Sessions

You can register on-site at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans to join the 2026 Scientific Sessions, taking place June 5–8. Don’t miss your chance to learn about the latest advances in diabetes research, prevention, and care. After the meeting, registered participants will have on-demand access to recorded presentations.