EFFECTIVENESS OF SMARTPHONE APPLICATION-BASED LIFESTYLE EDUCATION PROGRAM IN TYPE 2 DIABETES PATIENTS

Tóm tắt

  Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a growing global health concern. Diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) is associated with reducing blood sugar levels, body mass index (BMI), and cardiovascular risk factors. Online consultations have become essential for monitoring and medical advice. Data about effectiveness of the DSMES program in Vietnam has been very limited. Objectives: To evaluate effectiveness of smartphone application-based lifestyle education program on improving knowledge and behavior about diabetes, improving BMI and waist circumference, lowering blood glucose and lipid profile in Vietnamese patients with T2DM. Materials and methods: This was a non-blinded, randomized controlled trial study on 168 T2DM at Endocrinology clinic of General Hospital, Binh Dinh province between April 2022 to October 2022. Patients would be randomly classified into intervention group or control group. The intervention group received a 10-week intervention with DSMES program via the Dia-B smartphone application, while control group received standard education program. Results: There were 84 patients in the intervention group and 84 patients in the control group. The two groups were similar regarding main baseline characteristics. After the research period, general knowledge about diabetes management of the intervention group improved significantly from 6.3 points to 7.8 points (p<0.001). Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, fasting blood glucose and HbA1c were statistically significantly lower after every 3 months of intervention. Of notes, after 6 months, while HbA1c in the intervention group decreased by 1.57%, the control group decreased by 0.28% (p<0.001). Conclusions: Smartphone application-based lifestyle education program improves knowledge and behavior about diabetes, decreases BMI, waist circumference, fasting blood glucose and HbA1c.