Investigation of the Functional Requirements and Influencing Factors of Self-management App Use in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus: Retrospective Observational Study (Preprint)

Abstract

Diabetes self-management apps can provide convenient and personalized health information and reduce glycosylated haemoglobin, weight, the occurrence of severe hypoglycaemia and disease burden. This study aims to describe the attitudes towards and needs of self-management apps among diabetic patients in China.

This study aims to describe the attitudes towards and needs of self-management apps among diabetic patients in China.

A self-administered cross-sectional survey was offered to patients at Changzhou from March to December 2021. Participants were included if they were  18 years old, had the ability to read and write, and completed the questionnaire independently. Responses were summarized using descriptive statistics. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with attitudes towards the use of self-management apps.

We surveyed 615 diabetes patients and found that 60% of the patients were willing to use self-management applications. The scores indicating importance of functional needs were sequentially ordered as follows: contact and interaction with medical practitioners (4.16), reminder to assess blood glucose levels (4.07), alert indicating abnormal blood glucose levels (4.06), medication reminder (3.93), documentation of intake per meal (3.91), calculation of carbohydrate intake (3.85), graphic presentation of blood glucose levels (3.84), setting of personal goals (3.82), reminder to exercise (3.80), and providing diabetes knowledge (3.77). No differences in functional needs were noted between patients with insulin treatment and those without it. Factors influencing the usage of mobile applications included age, occupation, medical insurance and the eHealth Literacy Scale score. The main reason for unwillingness to use self-management applications was a lack of experience using it.

The functional needs of patients using diabetes self-management apps include contacting and interacting with medical staff, recording and alarming blood glucose, reminding medicine, recording and calculating intake, providing graphic representation of blood glucose, setting health goals, recording exercise and sending diabetes knowledge. Age, occupation, medical insurance and the eHealth Literacy Scale score were the factors influencing willingness to use self-management applications. The main reason for reluctance to use self-management applications was lack of experience.