PDB106 DOES MOBILE HEALTH LIVE UP TO EXPECTATIONS? EXPLORING REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCES IN PATIENTS WITH DIABETES

Abstract

The mobile health (mHealth) market is expected to be worth over $150 billion by 2025. It is believed mHealth can improve clinical outcomes and patient involvement in disease management, and reduce risk of disease-related complications and associated cost. However, little information is available on patient perspectives on the use of mHealth products. Therefore, this study aimed to characterise real-world experiences of mHealth products for patients with diabetes, one of the largest populations of mHealth users. Publicly available posts from patients with diabetes (both types) and/or caregivers about continuous blood glucose monitoring were extracted from the Diabetes.co.uk forum, from 2016 to 2019, and subset to those containing names of select diabetes mHealth products. From these, a random sample of 80 users (153 posts) were qualitatively analysed using thematic analysis. Of 80 users, 73 had posts relevant to the study objectives, and 7 users were excluded as they did not provide an experience or perception of mHealth. Most common themes were satisfaction (32 users, 44% of users), accuracy (25 users, 34%) and cost (22 users, 30%). Of users mentioning satisfaction, 84% were happy with the product. However, where users discussed accuracy, 56% did not believe products to be accurate, and 32% discussed inconsistencies between outputs of different devices. Some users however, said accuracy did not matter as the value of mHealth is in tracking trends (32%). Cost was important for continued use of mHealth devices, and discussions regarding cost often related to NHS and insurance provision of mHealth products (11 users, 50%). mHealth is changing diabetes management, and whilst many users express positive attitudes there are key challenges for mHealth to overcome if its growth is to continue. This study can help researchers understand use-behaviours of mHealth products, in addition to areas for improvement to maximise benefit to patients with diabetes.