Mobile phone ownership and willingness to receive mHealth services among patients with diabetes mellitus in South-West, Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction mobile phone technology is increasingly used to overcome traditional barriers to limiting access to diabetes care. This study evaluated mobile phone ownership and willingness to receive and pay for mobile phone-based diabetic services among people with diabetes in South-West, Nigeria. Methods two hundred and fifty nine patients with diabetes were consecutively recruited from three tertiary health institutions in South-West, Nigeria. Questionnaire was used to evaluate mobile phone ownership, willingness to receive and pay for mobile phone-based diabetic health care services via voice call and text messaging. Results 97.3% owned a mobile phone, with 38.9% and 61.1% owning smartphone and basic phone respectively. Males were significantly more willing to receive mobile-phone-based health services than females (81.1% vs 68.1%, p=0.025), likewise married compared to unmarried [77.4% vs 57.1%, p=0.036]. Voice calls (41.3%) and text messages (32.4%), were the most preferred modes of receiving diabetes-related health education with social media (3.1%) and email (1.5%) least. Almost three-quarter of participants (72.6%) who owned mobile phone, were willing to receive mobile phone-based diabetes health services. The educational status of patients (adjusted OR [AOR]: 1.7{95% CI: 1.6 to 2.1}), glucometers possession (AOR: 2.0 [95% CI: 1.9 to 2.1) and type of mobile phone owned (AOR: 2.9 [95% CI: 2.8 to 5.0]) were significantly associated with the willingness to receive mobile phone-based diabetic services. Conclusion the majority of study participants owned mobile phones and would be willing to receive and pay for diabetes-related healthcare delivery services provided the cost is minimal and affordable.

Understanding the sociodemographic factors associated with intention to receive SMS messages for health information in a rural area of Bangladesh

“…However, less than three-quarter of men and one-quarter of women in our study could read SMS, which is similar to that reported in a previous study in Bangladesh among patients with diabetes [ 43 ]. In terms of willingness to receive SMS for health information, our results are similar to those reported in previous studies [ 43 , 51 ].…”

“…The differences observed in the present report compared with previous studies may be due to differences in education levels. In the current study, 19% of participants had a secondary school certificate or above, compared to 49% with tertiary education in the Nigerian study [ 51 ] and 71% with secondary or above education level in an urban based tertiary hospital in Bangladesh [ 43 ]. Consistent with previous studies [ 34 , 46 ], we found no gap between mobile phones ownership amongst men and women who have at least a secondary school certificate.…”

“…In this study, we found that women are 23% less likely to own a mobile phone than men, which is consistent with previous findings in South Asia [ 50 ]. In previous studies among patients with diabetes conducted in Nigeria and Bangladesh, comprising of approximately 60% of women, it was reported that almost everyone owned a mobile phone [ 43 , 51 ]. The higher proportion of mobile ownership in previous studies may be due to the financial or educational variation to access mobile and internet facilities, as both studies were urban based.…”

“…In terms of reading SMS, a study conducted in Nigeria among participants with diabetes reported that three-quarters of participants were able to read SMS, with no difference between gender [ 51 ]. However, less than three-quarter of men and one-quarter of women in our study could read SMS, which is similar to that reported in a previous study in Bangladesh among patients with diabetes [ 43 ].…”

Tele-Healthcare Monitoring System-Based for the Management of Diabetes Emergencie

“…Telemedicine is been defined as the use of telecommunications to support healthcare. It includes timely transmission and remote interpretation of patient data for early interventions and management of patients [4]. Telemedicine interventions can be communicated from handheld hardware devices to remote Web server.…”