187-LB: Leveling Health Disparities through Digital Health—Associations between Risk for Health Inequity and Diabetes App Satisfaction, Use, and Outcomes

Abstract

Introduction: Disparities in health outcomes are well documented in the literature, with factors such as race, education and income increasing the risk of inequity. Mobile health (mHealth) may help bridge the health equity gap. This study investigates use and attitudes toward One Drop's mHealth program for type 2 diabetes (T2D) as it relates to cumulative risk for health inequity. Methods: Members with T2D using One Drop completed a health survey in exchange for a $20 gift card. We tested relationships between cumulative risk for inequity, calculated as a count of risks related to race/ethnicity, income, education, insurance and employment, and One Drop attitudes, use and outcomes. Results: Members (N=149) reported a median of 1 risk factor. Risk was positively associated with reported helpfulness of the One Drop app, educational topics, reminders and actual views of lessons, while negatively related to past-month glucose logging (p’s<.05) . No associations were found for helpfulness of glucose analysis or coaching, use of coaching, self-reported A1C and actual past-month blood glucose (p’s>.05) . Discussion: Higher risk for health inequity was associated with reporting greater helpfulness of One Drop's app and the use of some of its features. Combined with the absence of an association between risk for inequity and self-reported A1C and glucose, results suggest mHealth apps may be creating equitable outcomes by providing trusted content and greater accessibility. mHealth platforms should ensure this population has access to education emphasizing regular glucose monitoring as part of diabetes self-care. Disclosure S. D. Imrisek: Employee; One Drop. H. Nagra: Employee; One Drop, One Drop. J. R. Hoy-rosas: None. M. Lee: Employee; One Drop. D. Goldner: Employee; One Drop. J. Dachis: Board Member; One Drop, Employee; One Drop, Stock/Shareholder; One Drop. L. Sears: Employee; One Drop.