HealthTWITTER Initiative: Design of a Social Networking Service Based Tailored Application for Diabetes Self-Management

The role of social networks in diabetes self‐care: A cross‐sectional study

Background

Patient involvement with diabetes self‐care is critical to reducing complications, morbidity, and mortality. Social media, as one of the most important forms of digital health, has always been available for diabetes self‐care, although the role of these media in supporting patient self‐care is unclear.

Aims

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of social networks in diabetes self‐care. In this study, the most important social networks used to receive self‐care services, diabetes self‐care behaviors, diabetes self‐care educations and benefits of using various services provided through social networks were identified.

Methods

The present study is a cross‐sectional study that was conducted through an electronic researcher‐made questionnaire in 2021. Two hundred and eighteen patients were selected to participate in the study from centers of diabetes of Fasa city, south of Iran. Sampling was performed by convenience sampling and in accordance with inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and analytical tests.

Results

In the data analysis section on Diabetes self‐care behaviors, there was no significant relationship between gender (p = 0.292), age (p = 0.49), type of diabetes (p = 0.909) and duration of diabetes (p = 0.076) with the use of self‐care services provided through social networks. There was a significant relationship between education level and the use of self‐care services provided through social networks (p = 0.01). “Recognizing diabetes and its complications,” “observing personal hygiene,” and “the impact of physical activity on diabetes control” were the most important educations. “Increasing patient knowledge and understanding about diabetes and its complications,” “reducing the consumption of high‐calorie foods and sugars,” and “observing personal and public health” were the most important social network's benefits, respectively.

Conclusions

Various self‐care educations and services provided through social networks can increase the in‐depth knowledge of diabetic patients about self‐care techniques and their effective role in controlling and managing diabetes and performing more self‐care processes.

Investigating the Enduring Impact of a Community-Based Health Education Program to Promote African American Elders' Use of Technology Designed to Support Chronic Disease Self-Management

Elders experience chronic disease disparities and barriers to access technology designed to support recommended self-management behaviors. Elders from racial minority groups are among those who experience particular disparities in chronic disease incidence, outcomes, and barriers to technology use. In order to investigate strategies to address barriers, the study team recruited elder African Americans with diabetes and young adults connected to the elders through naturally occurring familial or social networks. Participants attended a community-based health education session focused on enhancing self-efficacy for recommended self-management and using consumer-oriented technology accessible on their smartphones for self-management support. To assess enduring impact, the study team conducted a pilot study to investigate perceptions and use one month following the health education session. Both elders and young adults offered perspectives on what was effective in teaching elders how to use technology. Both age groups stressed that having patience was crucial, as is providing encouragement for the elders to try tasks on their own. Both elders and young adults also showed a statistically significant increase in aspirations to work together for additional intergenerational health and technology knowledge exchange. Several elder participants continued using technology that they first used during the session. This novel, pilot study describes how to promote self-management and technology use for individuals plagued by persistent chronic disease and technology use disparities.

Development of tailored nutrition information messages based on the transtheoretical model for smartphone application of an obesity prevention and management program for elementary-school students

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Easy access to intervention and support for certain behaviors is important for obesity prevention and management. The available technology such as smartphone applications can be used for intervention regarding healthy food choices for obesity prevention and management in elementary-school students. The transtheoretical model (TTM) is comprised of stages and processes of change and can be adopted to tailored education for behavioral change. This study aims to develop TTM-based nutrition contents for mobile applications intended to change eating behaviors related to weight gain in young children.

SUBJECTS/METHODS

A synthesized algorithm for tailored nutrition messages was developed according to the intake status of six food groups (vegetables, fruits, sugar-sweetened beverages, fast food and instant food, snacks, and late-night snacks), decision to make dietary behavioral changes, and self-confidence in dietary behavioral changes. The messages in this study were developed from December 2014 to April 2015. After the validity evaluation of the contents through expert consultation, tailored nutrition information messages and educational contents were developed based on the TTM.

RESULTS

Based on the TTM, stages of subjects are determined by their current intake status, decision to make dietary behavioral changes, and self-confidence in dietary behavioral changes. Three versions of tailored nutrition messages at each TTM stage were developed so as to not send the same messages for three weeks at most, and visual materials such as figures and tables were developed to provide additional nutritional information. Finally, 3,276 tailored nutrition messages and 60 nutrition contents for applications were developed.

CONCLUSIONS

Smartphone applications may be an innovative medium to deliver interventions for eating behavior changes directly to individuals with favorable cost-effectiveness. In addition, using the TTM for tailored nutrition education for healthy eating is an effective approach.

Connected health: a review of the literature

The presence of social support, and more recently, connection, has been linked to multiple health benefits and longevity measures and the lack of connection is associated with premature morbidity and mortality. Connected health is a growing industry, and we were interested in determining whether or not scholars in the field have established the ways in which technology could facilitate or promote connection between patients and healthcare providers. This integrative literature review sought to collect and analyze research studies addressing social support or connection in a sample of patients with diabetes to evaluate the social support or connection metrics in use, the type of technology deployed by researchers to achieve connection, and to assess the state of the science in this area. We hypothesized that being connected to someone who cares is good for your health. We believe this holds true even when connection is accomplished with mobile technologies. Thirty five studies were included in this review, 21 utilized technology to enhance patient-provider connection. The articles included in this review were from a total of more than nine countries and took place in hospital, physician office, and community settings. They represented people from childhood through to old age. Technologies evaluated include: telephone interventions, email, text messaging, interactive voice response (IVR), video blogs, apps, websites, and social media. There were multiple operational definitions of social support and self-management used as variables within the studies. Findings from this review suggest that being connected does matter to patients with diabetes, and being connected to family matters the most, even though the associations are complex and not always predictable. Furthermore, patients with diabetes will utilize a variety of technologies to connect with healthcare providers, team members, and even other people with the same disease. The use of technology with diabetes patients positively impacts a variety of health outcomes, such as HbA1c, weight, physical activity, healthy eating, cholesterol and frequency of glycemic monitoring.