Effects of Digital Self-Care Intervention for Korean Older Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Trial over 12 Weeks

Aims : This study developed and assessed the effectiveness of a nurse-led digital self-care intervention program tailored for older adults with type 2 diabetes. Design: A randomized controlled trial of a 12-week digital self-care intervention was conducted with 120 older Korean adults with type 2 diabetes. The intervention involved self-recording in the DiaNote® application newly developed for the study and a phone visit. Methods: Participants were randomly allocated to DiaNote or traditional logbook groups. Outcomes based on the Information–Motivation–Behavioral Skills model were collected at baseline and 12 weeks thereafter. Results: Of the 105 participants (53 intervention group, mean age 72.7 years; 52 control group, 74.1 years), generalized estimating equations indicated that HbA1c level changes over time were not significant in either group. However, the group × time interaction was significant. Diabetes self-care activities and quality of life changed over time in both groups. Self-efficacy did not significantly differ between groups or over time. Conclusions: The digital self-care intervention was beneficial for blood sugar control and was equivalent to using a traditional diabetes logbook for quality of life and diabetic self-care. This result challenges the prevailing notion that digital interventions are primarily effective for younger individuals .