Willingness of diabetes mellitus patients to use mHealth applications and its associated factors for self-care management in a low-income country: an input for digital health implementation

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough mHealth applications are becoming more widely available and used, there is no evidence about why people are willing to use them. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the willingness of patients with diabetes to use mHealth applications and associated factors for self-care management in Ethiopia.MethodsAn institutional cross-sectional study was conducted among 422 patients with diabetes. Data were collected using pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire. Epi Data V.4.6 for entering the data and STATA V.14 for analysing the data were used. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was carried out to identify factors associated with patient’s willingness to use mobile health applications.ResultsA total of 398 study participants were included in the study. About 284 (71.4%) 95% CI (66.8% to 75.9%)). Of participants were willing to use mobile health applications. Patients below 30 years of age (adjusted OR, AOR 2.21; 95% CI (1.22 to 4.10)), urban residents (AOR 2.12; 95% CI (1.12 to 3.98)), internet access (AOR 3.91; 95% CI (1.31 to 11.5)), favourable attitude (AOR 5.20; 95% CI (2.60 to 10.40)), perceived ease of use (AOR 2.57; 95% CI (1.34 to 4.85)) and perceived usefulness (AOR 4.67; 95% CI (1.95 to 5.77)) were significantly associated with patients’ willingness to use mobile health applications.ConclusionsOverall, diabetes patients’ willingness to use mobile health applications was high. Patients’ age, place of residence, internet access, attitude, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness were significant factors concerning their willingness to use mobile health applications. Considering these factors could provide insight for developing and adopting diabetes management applications on mobile devices in Ethiopia.

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“…This resonates with the worldwide trend of people using health apps to improve public health. With >55,000 health apps available globally on Google Store [ 15 ], these tools have, in some cases, been carefully evaluated to see how well they help with things such as diet [ 16 , 17 ], physical activity [ 18 ], or managing blood sugar [ 19 ]. mHealth apps are the most popular downloads from app stores.…”

Development and Testing of an Electronic Diabetes Diary Integrated With a Hospital Information System for Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study

“…Considering India’s socioeconomic background, the requirements for this population need to be assessed from various angles. It can be demonstrated by analyzing the findings of the study conducted by Walle et al [ 14 ] among 422 patients with diabetes in Ethiopia. The study aimed at understanding the willingness of patients with diabetes mellitus to use mHealth app and its associated factors for self-care management in a low-income country as a precursor to digital health implementation in Ethiopia.…”

“…The study aimed at understanding the willingness of patients with diabetes mellitus to use mHealth app and its associated factors for self-care management in a low-income country as a precursor to digital health implementation in Ethiopia. The study concluded that the mHealth app developers should consider factors such as the patients’ age, place of residence, internet connectivity, attitude, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness while developing similar apps [ 14 ].…”