6760 Screening children for paediatric diabetes (The ELSA Study) – accessing under-served communities

Objectives The ELSA study is exploring the feasibility and acceptability of screening children in the general population aged 3–13 years for type 1 diabetes (T1D). Children detected with T1D through screening have lower rates of presenting in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA)1 and better glucose control than T1D diagnosed following the usual routes of clinical presentation.2 There are therefore tangible reasons for exploring screening programmes for T1D. Recruitment approaches to ELSA include social media, text message and direct invitation. A dried blood spot card is used to quantify islet-specific autoantibodies (AAb) and can be performed at home or in the community. Uptake of research studies is recognised to be less-than-average in under-privileged and ethnic minority groups.3 Further, children from these backgrounds are more likely to present in DKA4 and therefore potentially have greater benefits from participating in a T1D screening programme. We aimed to compare demographics by recruitment strategy for the ELSA study. Methods Review of REDCap database for routes of recruitment by ethnicity and deprivation level. Ethnicity of child was self-reported and deprivation was assessed by postcode. Results Of 10,303 children enrolled to the ELSA trial, 84% are White European and 49% have a family history of T1D. Thus far, 8,565 children are registered for home-testing and 1,738 for community testing (table 1). Recruitment from primary care, schools, outpatient and community clinics achieved more diverse representation from ethnic minorities and deprived groups compared to home testing (table 1). In the West Midlands, 3 community clinics have targeted underserved groups (Islamic, Sikh communities and Syrian refugees). Community champions advertised the event, whilst the Clinical Research Network and interpreters supported with consent and screening. Of the families who attended (n=49 families), uptake for screening was >90% (n=56 children consented). Conclusion Recruitment to the ELSA study via social media for home testing has predominantly attracted White European and less deprived families. Community based recruitment, when targeting specific populations and geographical areas has the potential to increase uptake for screening from deprived and ethnic minority groups. References Ziegler et al. Yield of a Public Health Screening of Children for Islet Autoantibodies in Bavaria, Germany. JAMA 2020. Lundgren et al. Effect of screening for type 1 diabetes on early metabolic control: the DiPiS study. Diabetologia 2018. Improving inclusion of underserved groups in clinical research: Guidance from INCLUDE project. National Institute for Health Research 2020. Redondo et al. Racial/Ethnic Minority Youth With Recent-Onset Type 1 Diabetes Have Poor Prognostic Factors. Diabetes Care 2018.