Effectiveness of a Mobile Phone Short Message Service on Glycemic Control and Adherence to Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes

The global prevalence of diabetes among adults aged over 18 years old has increased from 4.7% in 1980 to 8.5% in 2014 (Mathers & Loncar, 2006; WHO, 2018b). The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in 2016 (WHO, 2016; WHO, 2018a). Current national statistics show that around 17% of all Egyptian adults have diabetes, and over 60% of diabetics receive no treatment (Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO), 2016). According to the WHO, there will be 6,726,000 cases of diabetes in Egypt by 2030 (WHO, 2000).

Almost 45% of patients with T2D cannot achieve adequate glycemic control (HbA1c <7%). Poor medication adherence in T2D is a common public health problem and is associated with poor glycemic control, increased morbidity and mortality, and increased costs of outpatient care, emergency room visits, hospitalization, and managing complications of diabetes (Polonsky & Henry, 2016).

Pharmacists involved in DSMES can help patients achieve therapeutic and lifestyle goals. This active participation requires that the pharmacist's practice extend beyond the traditional role (Shane-McWhorter et al., 2009). Patients and care providers should work together to optimize lifestyle aspects through the entire care process (Abaza & Marschollek, 2017).

In Egypt, the Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) is partially implementing diabetes education, mostly in outpatient clinics via educational meetings or counselling with physicians/ nurses. Patients often report difficulty sticking to healthy lifestyles. They are also liable to forget or ignore their physician's advice after leaving the clinic. Therefore, they need an educational method that can easily reach them to make knowledgeable patients and save the physician's critical time (Abaza & Marschollek, 2017).

According to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) in Egypt, up to October 2019, there were 95.25 million mobile subscriptions as opposed to 8.72 million fixed-line subscriptions (Ministry of Communication and Information Technology [MCIT], 2019). Moreover, there were 38.67 million mobile internet users versus 7.17 million Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line subscriptions in the same month; the mobile internet users could reflect the proportion of smartphone owners in the country (MCIT, 2019). In contrary to mobile internet or smartphone applications, short message service (SMS) can provide a simple way of communication reaching a larger population since almost all types of mobile phones support them (Abaza & Marschollek, 2017).