Standing With California Families: What I’ve Learned From Parents Navigating Type 1 Diabetes
Managing a child’s type 1 diabetes brings more than medical challenges — it brings emotional, social, and financial strain for families across California. Through Adhera Health’s T1D beta program, I’ve heard directly from parents about their struggles and their hopes. One mother told me, “Letting out my voice gives me relief.” Another shared, “I felt love from people I didn’t even know.” These voices remind us why our AI + human digital companion must combine empathy, education, and community to truly support families.
In California, thousands of families live with the daily realities of pediatric type 1 diabetes (T1D). Nationally, more than 300,000 children and adolescents under 20 have T1D, with nearly 20,000 new cases diagnosed each year (source). For parents, the diagnosis brings not just medical complexity but also emotional and social challenges - from sleepless nights to stigma at school.
At Adhera Health, we are AI-native, building companions that combine intelligent digital agents with human coaching and community support. Our flagship, the Adhera Caring Digital Program (ACDP), delivers evidence-based, personalized support for families managing pediatric chronic conditions.
Recently, we launched our T1D beta program, and I had the privilege of interviewing parents participating in it. Their voices continue to guide how we design meaningful support.
What I’ve learned from these conversations:
Emotional support matters deeply. Parents often described overwhelm, grief, and fear after diagnosis. One mother told me, “Letting out my voice gives me relief.” Another said, “This came at the right time after a very dark moment.”
Education is power. Families praised step-by-step guidance on CGM use, carb counting, and school communication. Bite-sized lessons were described as “clear and easy” and “more than I expected.”
Community brings comfort. When caregivers connected with peers, the impact was profound. “I felt love from people I didn’t even know,” one parent shared. That sense of belonging is something no algorithm alone can provide - it’s the human layer that makes AI support real.
Families want child-inclusive tools. Parents of older children voiced a desire for features that help kids take more responsibility, building both confidence and independence.
These reflections align with what our peer-reviewed research in JMIR Pediatrics & Parenting has shown: family-centered digital interventions can reduce caregiver stress and improve adherence in pediatric chronic care:
Our beta shows that impact is not just theoretical - it’s happening in real homes, with real families.
As we deepen partnerships with California payors, children’s hospitals, and advocacy groups, our goal remains clear: support families with tools that combine the best of AI and human care, improve outcomes for children, and lower long-term healthcare costs.
I’m also excited to share that we are preparing to launch our beta program for families managing pediatric obesity, further expanding how we support families across conditions. And later this month, I’ll be attending the California Association of Health Plans Annual Conference in Desert Springs, CA, meeting with executives from California health plans, Medi-Cal, and others to discuss the results we’ve been seeing with families - and what’s next.
Adhera Health at ENDO 2025: Championing Family-Centered Innovation in Pediatric Chronic Care
At ENDO 2025, Adhera Health presented three groundbreaking studies on pediatric chronic conditions—highlighting how AI-powered digital companions can improve both child and caregiver outcomes in families managing growth hormone disorders, type 1 diabetes, and obesity. Here’s what we shared, who we partnered with, and why it matters.
Last week at ENDO 2025 in San Francisco, Adhera Health took the stage with three research presentations focused on family-centered approaches to pediatric chronic condition care. The team presented posters on Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD), Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), and Pediatric Obesity - and delivered a Rapid Fire presentation during the Pediatric Growth Hormone session on Day 1.
Mental & Emotional Health in Growth Hormone Disorders
Ricardo C. Berrios, Adhera Health’s CEO and Luis Fernandez Luque, PhD, Adhera Health’s Chief Scientific Officer, presenting at ENDO 2025
Our study on GHD, presented in both poster and rapid fire formats, emphasized the interconnected emotional and physical challenges experienced by children and their caregivers. It highlighted how caregiver mental health is strongly associated with a child’s coping and treatment outcomes. These findings reinforce the need for holistic, family-centered interventions that address the full lived experience of GHD - not just the medical aspects. This study was conducted in partnership with the University of Miguel Servet’s Pediatric Endocrinology Department (led by Dr. Antonio de Arriba) and supported by Merck GmbH.
From over 2,700 abstracts presented at ENDO 2025, only 24 were selected for official Endocrine Society press releases - and our study was one of them. You can read the release here.
Our findings didn’t just make waves at ENDO — they also sparked coverage in leading science and health media outlets like News-Medical and Medical Xpress, helping to bring the conversation around family-centered pediatric care to a broader global audience.
Luis Fernandez Luque, PhD, Adhera Health’s Chief Scientific Officer, presenting at ENDO 2025
Type 1 Diabetes and Severe Glycemic Events
Our second presentation, titled "Associations Between Severe Events of Hypo- and Hyperglycemia and Family Well-being", explored how fluctuations in blood sugar levels - particularly at night - affect not just children with T1D, but also their caregivers’ emotional state and children’s academic performance. Caregiver education emerged as a key protective factor, reinforcing the value of empowering families with knowledge and emotional guidance. This study was conducted in partnership with the University of Miguel Servet’s Pediatric Endocrinology Department (led by Dr. Antonio de Arriba) and supported by Novo Nordisk.
Obesity in Underserved Families
Our third poster focused on the lived experiences of Latino families managing childhood obesity. Through 11 participatory workshops involving over 50 families, the study uncovered key challenges: stigma, cultural food practices, limited access to resources, and mental health gaps. Caregivers stressed the need for culturally competent, emotionally supportive tools - pointing to digital companions as a promising solution to close the care gap. This work was supported by an SBIR grant from the NIH in partnership with Jennifer Raymond, MD, MCR an Associate Professor in Pediatric Endocrinology at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and her research team.
Shannon McGinley, Adhera Health’s Director of Marketing and one of the researchers on the NIH-funded study
Collaborator Connections at ENDO
Beyond the research presentations, ENDO 2025 was an opportunity to deepen our partnerships. We met with critical Key Opinion Leaders including Dr. Brad Miller (Professor of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota) and Dr. William Martinez ((Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco) to discuss future directions for research in growth disorders and mental health in pediatric obesity. We also connected with Dr. Tina Hu, Clinical Director of Diabetes Transition of Care at UCSF, to explore the evolving needs of adolescents with diabetes as they age into adult care.
Ricardo C. Berrios, Luis Fernandez Luque and Dr. William Martinez, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, UCSF, discussing future partnerships
Looking Ahead
We’re proud to be advancing the science behind family-centered care in pediatrics. Whether it’s Growth Hormone Deficiency, Type 1 Diabetes, or Obesity, our work highlights the power of pairing digital innovation with human understanding - and bringing the whole family into the center of chronic care management.
View the Posters: