Helen Clapin
DiabHQ Project Manager; Data Theme Lead
BSc GradDipComp MPH
Helen is the DiabHQ Project Manager and Data Theme Lead for the Children’s Diabetes Centre. The DiabHQ project commenced in 2023, delivering a cutting-edge digital platform that integrates diabetes data from many different sources so that it can be used more effectively by clinicians, researchers, patients and families. The DiabHQ app, available for Android and iPhone from early 2025, allows patients and families to access their own clinical data at the same time as delivering a range of functionality to support diabetes self-management. Clinicians and researchers will be able to access DiabHQ data through customised portals that include digital capability to improve clinical care and accelerate research respectively.
Helen’s areas of research interest include:
- Data-driven decision-making in health care
- Empowering patients and families in self-management
- Clinical care and associated outcomes in children with T1D
- Models of care for children diagnosed with T1D
Helen has worked previously as an IT consultant in a broad range of industries.
Projects
Western Australian Children’s Diabetes Database
This register was established at Princess Margaret Hospital in 1987 which stores data on all consenting patients attending the hospital’s diabetes clinic.
Published research
Improved Glycemic Outcomes With Diabetes Technology Use Independent of Socioeconomic Status in Youth With Type 1 Diabetes
Technology use in type 1 diabetes (T1D) is impacted by socioeconomic status (SES). This analysis explored relationships between SES, glycemic outcomes, and technology use.
Association of Achieving Time in Range Clinical Targets With Treatment Modality Among Youths With Type 1 Diabetes
Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices have demonstrated efficacy in adults and more recently in youths and older adults with type 1 diabetes. In adults with type 1 diabetes, the use of real-time CGM compared with intermittently scanned CGM was associated with improved glycemic control, but there are limited data available for youths.
Diabetic Ketoacidosis at Onset of Type 1 Diabetes and Long-term HbA1c in 7,961 Children and Young Adults in the Australasian Diabetes Data Network
The relationship between diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes and long-term glycemic control varies between studies. We aimed, firstly, to characterize the association of DKA and its severity with long-term HbA1c in a large contemporary cohort, and secondly, to identify other independent determinants of long-term HbA1c.
Moderate and severe diabetic ketoacidosis at type 1 diabetes onset in children over two decades: A population-based study of prevalence and long-term glycemic outcomes
To investigate in a population-based pediatric cohort: prevalence of moderate-severe diabetic ketoacidosis at type 1 diabetes diagnosis over two decades and its association with long-term glycemic control.
Improvement in Psychosocial Outcomes in Children with Type 1 Diabetes and Their Parents Following Subsidy for Continuous Glucose Monitoring
Introduction of subsidized CGM showed early improvement in psychosocial and glycemic outcomes in patients and their families in Western Australia
Decreasing Trends in Mean HbA1c Are Not Associated With Increasing Rates of Severe Hypoglycemia in Children
There have been concurrent improvements in HbA1c and decreasing severe hypoglycemia rates in two pediatric cohorts of type 1 diabetes
Insulin Pump Therapy in Adolescents With Very Poor Glycemic Control During a 12-Month Cohort Trial
We conclude that insulin pump therapy can be an effective tool to improve glycemic control in adolescents with long-standing treatment resistance
Home-based vs inpatient education for children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes
With adequate support, children newly diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes can be safely managed at home following practical skills training
Australasian Diabetes Data Network: Building a Collaborative Resource
A national collaboration was formed to provide longitudinal collection of T1D patient characteristics and outcomes, the Australasian Diabetes Data Network
Education and Qualifications
2010, Masters in Public Health with Distinction, The University of Western Australia
1987, Graduate Diploma in Computing, Curtin University
1982, Bachelor of Science, The University of Western Australia