Use of and interest in mobile health for diabetes self-care in vulnerable populations

• Published in: Journal of telemedicine and telecare Vol. 22; no. 1; p. 32
• Main Authors: Humble, James R, Tolley, Elizabeth A, Krukowski, Rebecca A, Womack, Catherine R, Motley, Todd S, Bailey, James E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01-01-2016
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diabetes Mellitus - therapy; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Mobile Applications; Patient Acceptance of Health Care; Self Care - methods; Smartphone - statistics & numerical data; Telemedicine - methods; Telemedicine - utilization; Vulnerable Populations - statistics & numerical data; Young Adult; Ehealth; home telecare; telehealth; self-care
• ISSN: 1758-1109
• DOI: 10.1177/1357633X15586641

We aimed to assess use of and interest in mobile health (mHealth) technology and in-person services for diabetes self-care in vulnerable populations.
We delivered a self-administered cross-sectional survey. Participants were recruited at two primary care practices (P1 and P2) with P1 located in a medically underserved area and P2 in an affluent suburb. Two-sample t-tests and chi-square tests were used with p < 0.05 significant. In addition, a secondary analysis was performed to analyse differences in use and interest in mHealth by age.
Of 75 eligible patients, 60 completed the survey (80% response rate). P1 patients had significantly higher interest in three of five categories of in-person diabetes support services, one of four categories of health-related text messages (TM), and three of eight categories of mHealth applications (p < 0.05). Smartphone users reported higher interest in TM (p = 0.004) and mHealth applications for diabetes self-care (p = 0.004). Younger patients were more likely to have a smartphone (p < 0.006), use the Internet (p < 0.0012), use smartphone applications (p < 0.0004), and to be interested in using applications to manage their diabetes (p < 0.004).
This study shows substantial patient interest in TM and mHealth applications for diabetes self-care and suggests that patients in underserved areas may have particularly high interest in using mHealth solutions in primary care. Younger patients and smartphone users were more likely to be interested in using applications to manage their diabetes. As more patients use smartphones, interest in using mHealth to support patient self-care and strengthen primary care infrastructure will continue to grow.