Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31801370›Full record

ArticleJournal of diabetes science and technology2020

The Underground Exchange of Diabetes Medications and Supplies: Donating, Trading, and Borrowing, Oh My!

Michelle L Litchman, Tamara K Oser, Sarah E Wawrzynski, Heather R Walker, Sean Oser

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of diabetes science and technology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
16citing papers in PubMed
6.6field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

16 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Family member involvement when multiple family members have type 1 diabetes.Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association · 2025
    Article
  3. Insights on Improving Health Insurance Literacy in Diabetes.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2025
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Financial Barriers in Emerging Adults With Type 1 Diabetes: A Qualitative Analysis.Diabetes spectrum : a publication of the American Diabetes Association · 2022
    Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Michelle L LitchmanUniversity of Utah College of Nursing, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8928-5748
Tamara K OserUniversity of Colorado Denver, School of Medicine, CO, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0405-3420
Sarah E WawrzynskiUniversity of Utah College of Nursing, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2756-2583
Heather R WalkerUniversity of Utah Health, UT, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1134-5779
Sean OserUniversity of Colorado Denver, School of Medicine, CO, USA.
University of Utah · USUniversity of Colorado Denver · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe cost of diabetes medications and supplies is rising, resulting in access challenges. This study assessed the prevalence of and factors predicting underground exchange activities-donating, trading, borrowing, and purchasing diabetes medications and supplies. RESEARCH DESIGN AND

methodsA convenience sample of people affected by diabetes was recruited online to complete a survey. Mixed method analysis was undertaken, including logistic regression to examine the relationship between self-reported difficulty purchasing diabetes medications and supplies and engagement in underground exchange activity. Thematic qualitative analysis was used to examine open-text responses.

resultsParticipants (

conclusionOver half of the participants in this study engaged in underground exchange activities out of necessity. Providers must be aware about this underground exchange and inquire about safety and possible alternative resources. There is an urgent need to improve access to medications that are essential for life. Our study points to a failure in the US healthcare system since such underground exchanges may not be necessary if medications and supplies were accessible.

Indexed as

AltruismCommerceGift GivingHealth Services AccessibilityAdultAgedCross-Sectional StudiesDiabetes MellitusDiffusion of InnovationDrug CostsFemaleHealth Care SurveysHealth ExpendituresHealth Services ResearchHumansHypoglycemic AgentsHypoglycemic Agentscost of illnessdiabetesdiabetes technologyhealth services accessibilityinsulinsocial media

Identifiers

PMID31801370
PMCPMC7645126
OpenAlexW2993279134

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.