Purpose: To examine the features and types of health information provided in Chinese diabetes mobile applications (apps) for patients' self-management. Materials and Methods: Through multiple rounds of screening, we identified a total of 95 relevant iOS (Apple, Cupertino, CA) and AndroidÔ (Google, Mountain View, CA) apps and examined each app's features and health information types based on each app's description in the app stores. We used a 15-feature algorithm to evaluate the apps' abilities for supporting diabetic patients' self-management, based on U.S. national standards for diabetes self-management. We also adapted the health information wants framework to analyze the types of information that the apps provided for diabetic patients. Results: Diabetes education was the most common feature, provided by 75% of the apps. Blood glucose checking was enabled by 65% of the apps. Diet management, insulin checking, and physical activity monitoring were enabled by 53%, 49%, and 44% of the apps, respectively. Only a small percentage of the apps enabled psychosocial support (29%) or tracking of blood pressure (14%), cholesterol (14%), or body mass index (11%). None of the apps provided all seven types of information posited by the health information wants framework. Only a small percentage of the apps provided information about psychosocial support (29%), healthcare providers (24%), or healthcare facilities (24%). Information about complementary and alternative medicine was the least likely type of information provided in the apps, with only 7% of the apps providing this type of information. Conclusions: Our findings have important implications for improving the quality of Chinese diabetes mobile apps to facilitate patients' self-management.
This cross-sectional survey study explored (1) individual preferences for health information and decision-making autonomy among Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM); (2) their use of mHealth in diabetes self-management; and (3) the relationship between their mHealth use and preferences for health information and decision-making autonomy. Sample size: 200 Mandarin-speaking Chinese patients with T2DM; age range: 26-90 years (Mean: 59.91; SD: 12.17); Mean time since diabetes diagnosis: 7.4 years. Data were collected in February 2017 via a paper-and-pen questionnaire at a general hospital in China. The questionnaire was in Chinese, and measured preferences for health information and decision-making autonomy and mHealth use. Key findings: Participants wanted to have a wide range of health information and participation in decision-making. Gender, health status, and knowledge about diabetes were associated with differences in information wanted and participation in decision-making, but age was not. Half (50.5%) of the participants used smartphones to access the Internet and look for health information; 71% used smartphones to receive/read health-related posts; and 24% had at least one health-related application installed on their smartphones. Smartphone use frequency for health information and participation in decision-making had a significant interaction effect (p < .01), the strength of which varied across seven subscales (specific health condition, treatment, laboratory tests, self-management, complementary/alternative medicine, psychosocial aspects, and healthcare providers). The overall health information wanted was positively related to use of smartphones to receive health-related posts (p <.01). This study has implications for research and clinical practice, especially given the shift from disease-centered to patient-centered care and increasing use of mobile technology in health care. Disclosure L. Nie: None. B. Xie: None. Y. Yang: None. S.A. Brown: None.
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