Juggling Insulin for Goal Success And Wellbeing (JIGSAW)

A structured educational programme for improved self-management of type 1 diabetes

Purpose of JIGSAW

JIGSAW is a programme that seeks to assist people with type 1 diabetes to improve their day-to-day lives and glycaemic control by developing advanced skills in adjusting their food, exercise and insulin levels effectively.

JIGSAW usually runs over five or six weeks - a weekly three-hour session for four weeks (9.30am to 12.30pm) and then a whole day (9.30am to 4pm) to finish.

This programme has been designed and will be facilitated by a specialist multi-disciplinary team consisting of a specialist physician, a specialist dietitian, and senior diabetes nurse specialists.

JIGSAW is a programme that will:

  • Assist you to reflect on your personal goals for your own diabetes self management.
  • Work with others to explore different approaches to what you are currently doing in order to help you achieve your goals.
  • Help you reflect on and review your own strategies for blood glucose monitoring and teach pattern management of blood glucose levels.
  • Help you understand more about your insulin regimen and what you can do to it to achieve your goals.
  • Help you increase your confidence in managing your diabetes day to day.

The JIGSAW programme will provide you with:

  • Provision of tools to identify current patterns of food, home blood glucose monitoring and insulin dosages.
  • Skills to estimate the carbohydrate content and glycaemic effects of usual food intake. Greater understanding of broad principles of carbohydrate metabolism to understand interrelation between food, exercise and insulin.
  • Improved skills to relate the dose and timing of insulin to volume and type of carbohydrate and total meal effect.
  • More understanding of the impact of stress (physical and emotional) and exercise on your diabetes control.

To be a participant of JIGSAW you will need to:

  • Be already regularly using Home Blood Glucose Monitoring (HBGM)
  • Be using a multiple daily insulin injection regimen (eg 4 times/day)
  • Want to improve your HbA1c and/or reduce glucose fluctuations  (eg hypoglycaemic episodes)
  • Be willing to actively participate in the programme by attending sessions and undertaking ‘experimental homework’
  • Be willing and able to attend all sessions