Application test for betterment in the self-care of diabetic patients: a study in virtual messages under the NPT perspective

Abstract

With the increase in chronic diseases that can be linked to bad habits, communication technologies improve the quality of life and health status of patients. We sought to understand how a digital TV application and Smartphones can improve care for e-Health intervention patients through persuasive content, increasing health literacy levels in people with diabetes through elements of the Normalization Process Theory (NPT). An experimental exploratory study was carried out, through quantitative and qualitative research, in three groups of patients with diabetes (28 in total - 10 in the Control Group, 9 in the Smartphone Group and 9 in the Digital TV Group), in Poços de Caldas, MG, Brazil, including 7 health professionals (4 dentists and 3 nurses) who deal with these patients in the municipality. The application was accepted in both groups by users and professionals, all the while showing a tendency of increasing the literacy and persuasion among the users. From the NPT perspective, the issues of implementing a complex intervention, its incorporation and optimization of systems showed themselves efficient for the betterment of self-care through the use of technology. It was noticed that the users' self-management of the disease and behavior improved; however, it was pointed out that the help and participation of healthcare professionals in needed for better credibility, persuasion, effectiveness and efficacy of the messages. It should be noted that they are content adjustments to improve literacy indicators.