A Mobile Application to Improve Diabetes Self-Management Using Rapid Prototyping: Iterative Co-Design Approach in Asian Settings

Abstract

Background: Diabetes is a global public health issue, causing burden on healthcare system and increasing risk of mortality. Mobile applications (apps) can be a promising approach to facilitate diabetes self-management. An increasingly utilized approach to facilitate engagement with mobile health (mHealth) technology is to involve potential users in the creation of the technology. Objective: The aim of this study was to use co-design for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) self-management mHealth development. Methods: Three rounds of iterative rapid prototyping panel sessions were conducted with a total of 9 T2DM participants in an Asian setting between Oct 2020 and April 2021. The participants were recruited through convenience sampling. For each round, feedback was gathered through qualitative interviews, and the feedback was used as a reference by the development team to develop and test a more refined version of the app in the next round. Transcribed semi-structured interview data was analyzed thematically using an inductive approach. Results: Participants' ages ranged from 40 to 69 years. Data saturation was reached, with no new themes emerging from the data. During the sessions, the participants expressed a variety of concerns and feedback on T2DM self-management using EMPOWER app and raised suggestions on the features of ideal T2DM self-management app. Important features include 1) reminders and notifications for medications, 2) Bluetooth integration with glucometers and blood pressure machines to minimize manual entry, 3) enlarged local food database including information on sugar content and recommendations for healthier options, 4) one touch for logging of routine medications and favorite foods, 5) export function for data sharing with physicians. Overall inputs concerned aspects such as userfriendliness of the app, customization possibilities, and educational content for the features in the mobile app. Conclusion:In this study, we explored users' opinions on a T2DM self-management mobile app using co-design approach. This study adds to the growing body of literature on co-designing behavioral mHealth interventions and can potentially guide researchers in mobile app design for other chronic conditions.

A Culturally Sensitive Mobile Application to Improve Self-Care in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Design Thinking Methodology (Preprint)

“…The DiaFriend app incorporates five core features: blood glucose monitoring, weight tracking, carbohydrate tracking, exercise logging, and medication reminders. As a diabetes self-care app, these features are essential for supporting effective diabetes self-management [11,15,21,22]. While existing apps that help patients with diabetes manage their blood sugar, carbohydrate intake, and exercise are often built as separate, standalone applications, requiring patients to use multiple apps to track each aspect of their progress, the DiaFriend app integrates all these features into a single, user-friendly platform.…”

“…Mobile applications have the potential to facilitate improved T2DM self-care by providing patients with convenient access to monitoring and tracking features blood glucose level monitoring and carbohydrate counters) educational resources, and personalized support. However, many existing apps lack user-friendly interfaces and personalization of features, fail to accommodate diverse cultural perspectives, and do not offer tailored experiences tailored to individual needs and preferences [9][10][11]. Moreover, multi-step tasks, repetitive data-entering processes, and complicated system navigation are time-consuming and require technological skills.…”

“…While mobile apps have the potential to provide significant benefits for self-management, patients with T2DM may encounter various challenges that hinder their effective use of these tools. Therefore, a mobile app designed to support T2DM self-management should incorporate a userfriendly interface with features that are customized to cultural preferences, such as dietary intake, lifestyle, and support from family and healthcare providers [6,11]. Portuguese Americans with T2DM have distinct preferences that influence their behavior and expectations regarding technology; therefore, they require a user-centered app customized and sensitive to their culture.…”

A Diabetes Education App for People Living With Type 2 Diabetes: Co-Design Study

“…These concepts, especially adaptability, complement personalization and information design constructs in the digital patient experience framework, including profiling, tailoring, and autonomy [ 64 ]. In a co-design study for a T2D self-management app, Kwan et al [ 65 ] found that people with diabetes in an Asian context expect reminders and notifications for medication, integration with glucometers and blood pressure machines, a local food database, 1-touch logging of medication and food, and an export function for sharing data with physicians. Our findings confirm that the self-management component, including tracking features, is a desired feature.…”

Digital Dimensions: Unveiling the Potential of E-Design and Virtual Prototyping

“…The promotion of multidisciplinary collaboration is a key aspect of E-Design, as it serves to bridge gaps across many professions such as design, engineering, and others. The collaboration between different elements leads to the emergence of novel solutions and comprehensive design outputs [13]. The facilitation of remote work is increasingly supported by the utilisation of E-Design tools, which enable teams to collaborate effectively despite being physically dispersed.…”