Abstract
BackgroundMobile health has potential for promotion of self-management in patients with chronic diseases. This study was conducted to investigate smartphone usage in patients with type II diabetes and their intention to use it for self-management.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted in 2018 with 176 patients with type II diabetes visiting a specialized diabetes clinic or one of two endocrinology and metabolism specialists in north of Iran. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire containing items on demographic characteristics, disease information, use of mobile phones, smartphones and the internet, and intention to use mobile phones for diabetes self-management.ResultsThe majority of the participants had mobile phones (94.9%), smartphones (61.1%), and daily access to the internet (81.3%), and used phones two hours per day on average (80.1%). They mostly used mobile phones to contact friends (89.2%) and search for information (50.6%), and their greatest intention for using smartphones and the internet for self-management was related to dietary planning (96%), checking blood glucose (90.9%), and contacting specialists (87.5%). Younger participants were more interested in using smartphone applications (apps) (P < 0.001). About half of the participants argued that using apps can be interesting (54%) and useful (50%) for diabetes management, and intended to use apps much more in future (48.3%).ConclusionsThe majority of patients with type II diabetes are inclined to use mobile phone and the Internet, especially to plan their diet, check blood glucose, and contact their doctors. The present study provides valuable information for designing and implementing interventions based on mHealth to promote self-management in type II diabetes.
Highlights
Mobile health has potential for promotion of self-management in patients with chronic diseases
Many patients with diabetes are faced with several barriers that interfere with self-management in achieving glycemic control, the body fat and weight, controlling blood pressure and blood fat, and having an optimizing diet [12, 13]
Most of the participants spent more than two hours per day using mobile phones (80.1%) and the Internet (56.8%)
Summary
Mobile health has potential for promotion of self-management in patients with chronic diseases. This study was conducted to investigate smartphone usage in patients with type II diabetes and their intention to use it for self-management. Improving self-management behaviors is the first step toward helping patients with diabetes to better control their disease [10]. Successful management of diabetes depends on the individual’s ability to have effective selfmanagement behaviors such as proper use of the prescribed medications, adherence with dietary and activity regimens, self-monitoring, and coping with the psychological impact of living with a chronic disease [11]. It has been shown that diabetes self-management can be improved with mobile phone interventions since they have potential to support therapy management, improve therapy adherence, and prevent disease complications [15]
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