Background Control of blood glucose levels is needed not only to alleviate symptoms of hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia, but also to prevent or delay diabetes-related complications. Advice for... Show moreBackground Control of blood glucose levels is needed not only to alleviate symptoms of hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia, but also to prevent or delay diabetes-related complications. Advice for glucose control is usually provided to patients by members of the health care team. However, many diabetes apps claim to enhance self-management of blood glucose by providing decision support to patients when an out-of-range blood glucose level is recorded. In this study, we investigated the appropriateness of action prompts provided by diabetes apps for hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia against evidence-based guidelines. Methods We used methods previously reported to identify and select diabetes apps, which were downloaded and assessed against the American Diabetes Association (ADA) guidelines. Screenshots of action prompts corresponding to low or high out-of-range blood glucose values were subjected to content analysis. Results Of 371 diabetes self-management apps evaluated, only 217 and 216 apps alerted patients about hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia, respectively. Of these, 20.7% (45/217) and 15.3% (33/216) also provided action prompts. We found 5.1% of apps (hypoglycaemia: 11/217; hyperglycaemia: 11/216) provided prompts that were either too general to be helpful or not aligned with ADA guidelines. Overall, only 17.9% (39/217) and 14.8% (32/216) provided appropriate action prompts for hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia, respectively. Conclusion Less than one fifth of apps provided evidence-based steps to guide patients through hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia. The majority of apps failed to provide just-in-time diabetes self-management education to prevent frequent or severe episodes of hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia. Our findings emphasize the need for better design and quality assurance of diabetes apps. Show less
Huang, Z.L.; Lum, E.; Jimenez, G.; Semwal, M.; Sloot, P.; Car, J. 2019
BackgroundSmartphone apps are becoming increasingly popular for supporting diabetes self-management. A key aspect of diabetes self-management is appropriate medication-taking. This study aims to... Show moreBackgroundSmartphone apps are becoming increasingly popular for supporting diabetes self-management. A key aspect of diabetes self-management is appropriate medication-taking. This study aims to systematically assess and characterise the medication management features in diabetes self-management apps and their congruence with best-practice evidence-based criteria.MethodsThe Google Play and Apple app stores were searched in June 2018 using diabetes-related terms in the English language. Apps with both medication and blood glucose management features were downloaded and evaluated against assessment criteria derived from international medication management and diabetes guidelines.ResultsOur search yielded 3369 Android and 1799 iOS potentially relevant apps; of which, 143 apps (81 Android, 62 iOS) met inclusion criteria and were downloaded and assessed. Over half 58.0% (83/143) of the apps had a medication reminder feature; 16.8% (24/143) had a feature to review medication adherence; 39.9% (57/143) allowed entry of medication-taking instructions; 5.6% (8/143) provided information about medication; and 4.2% (6/143) displayed motivational messages to encourage medication-taking. Only two apps prompted users on the use of complementary medicine. Issues such as limited medication logging capacity, faulty reminder features, unclear medication adherence assessment, and visually distracting excessive advertising were observed during app assessments.ConclusionsA large proportion of diabetes self-management apps lacked features for enhancing medication adherence and safety. More emphasis should be given to the design of medication management features in diabetes apps to improve their alignment to evidence-based best practice. Show less
Lum, E.; Jimenez, G.; Huang, Z.L.; Thai, L.; Semwal, M.; Boehm, B.O.; Car, J. 2019
