Aim: Despite the existence of evidence-based guidelines for the care of
children with diabetes, widespread gaps in knowledge, attitude, and
practice remain. The purpose of this paper is to present a review of
benchmarking practices and results of this process within SWEET,
moreover focusing on current challenges and future directions.
Methods: Biannually, members electronically transfer de-identified
clinic data for 37 parameters to the SWEET database. Each center
receives benchmarking and data validation reports.
Results: In 2015, 48 centers have contributed data for 20 165 unique
patients (51.6% male). After exclusion for missing data 19 131 patients
remain for further analysis. The median age is 14.2 years, with a median
diabetes duration 4.8 years; 96.0% of patients have type 1, 1.1% type
2, and 2.9% other diabetes types. Data completeness has increased over
time. In 2015, median HbA1c of all patients’ (diabetes type 1) medians
was 7.8% (61.7 mmol/mol) with 39.1%, 41.4%, and 19.4% of patients
having HbA1c < 7.5% (58 mmol/mol), 7.5%-9% (58-75 mmol/mol) and >9%
(75 mmol/mol), respectively. Although HbA1c has been stable over time
[7.7%-7.8% (60.7-61.7 mmol/mol)], there remains wide variation
between centers. Fourteen centers achieve a median HbA1c < 7.5% (58
mmol/mol).
Conclusions: Our vision is that the participation in SWEET is
encouraging members to deliver increasingly accurate and complete data.
Dissemination of results and prospective projects serve as further
motivation to improve data reporting. Comparing processes and outcomes
will help members identify weaknesses and introduce innovative
solutions, resulting in improved and more uniform care for patients with
diabetes