Mobile Phone Apps for Diabetes Patients: AHRQ Report

The use of mobile phone apps to help the diabetes patients improve their health is increasingly being used by clinicians, pharmacists and patients. These apps have been found to improve the health of patients; however, most of them have not been evaluated to prove their efficiency (Agency for Health Research and Quality, 2018).

Some Mobile Phone Apps Help Diabetes Patients Improve Health But Hundreds Remain
Unstudied, AHRQ Report Finds
The use of mobile phone apps to help the diabetes patients improve their health is
increasingly being used by clinicians, pharmacists and patients. These apps have been found to
improve the health of patients; however, most of them have not been evaluated to prove their
efficiency (Agency for Health Research and Quality, 2018). Since there are no legal policies
and regulations governing the development of mobile apps for self-management of diabetes,
hundreds of such apps exist. To help improve the quality of healthcare, AHRQ (2018) found that
diabetes patients have access to several mobile apps, most of which have not been evaluated to
prove efficacy. Self-management is very crucial for a diabetes patient. This is to prevent further
complications as a result of the condition. According to Kebede, and Pischke (2019), the use of
these apps can augment self-management and the adoption of healthier lifestyle.
AHRQ (2018) evaluated 11 apps used in self-management of diabetes and only 5 are
capable of improving the control of blood sugar levels. These apps improve communication by
providing automated feedback or from healthcare professionals. The apps also support lifestyle
changes and glucose monitoring. However, their use is limited by the high attrition due to
insufficient consideration of the perspectives of end-users as well as the requirements of usability
(Adu, Malabu, Callander, Malau-Aduli and Malau-Aduli (2018). A good diabetes management
app should follow standardized medical and behavioral protocols which are capable of
improving the quality of life and preventing premature mortality.
Their also exist gaps in the official legal standards and evidence-based approaches used
in the development of these apps. Adu et al. (2018) argue that there need to be developmental

considerations to help designers and researchers to develop innovative and effective mobile apps
that focus on patient-centered self-management. This is because there are several interacting
components like physical activity, healthy eating habits, blood sugar monitoring, adherence to
medication, and risk reduction behaviors that are involved. The variability in the design and
usage of these apps is also limited to group and single function. These functions may be hard to
understand by the patient. It is also important to consider privacy and security concerns of these
apps. Most people are worried of who may see their medical information (Rubin, 2018).). This is
because some medical devices such as blood glucose meters upload medical information in the
application automatically.

References
Adu, M. D., Malabu, U. H., Callander, E. J., Malau-Aduli, A. E., & Malau-Aduli, B. S. (2018).
Considerations for the Development of Mobile Phone Apps to Support Diabetes Self-
Management: Systematic Review. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 6(6), e10115.
doi:10.2196/10115
Agency for Health Research and Quality. (2018). Some mobile phone apps help diabetes patients
improve health but hundreds remain unstudied, AHRQ report finds.
https://www.ahrq.gov/news/newsroom/press-releases/mobile-phone-apps-diabetes-
patients.html
Kebede, M. M., & Pischke, C. R. (2019). Popular diabetes apps and the impact of diabetes app
use on self-care behaviour: A survey among the digital community of persons with
diabetes on Social Media. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 10, 135.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2019.00135
Rubin, R. (2018). Phone apps for patients with diabetes. Jama, 319(24), 2469-2469.
doi:10.1001/jama.2018.8164