Use of Mobile Health Technology as an Intervention for Type II Diabetes Self-Management

This study evaluates the effectiveness of an interactive mobile health information service, Care4Life, in supporting patient self-management through its ability to facilitate patient education, behavior change, and improved adherence with standard care practices. The study population comprises adults who have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and a hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) test above 8% in the past year. All members of the study population are treated at primary care clinics under the auspices of the Utah Beacon Community Program, which aims to improve health through use of health information technology. We will compare outcomes in two groups within this population: patients with DM who enroll in Care4Life (in addition to receiving standard care) to patients with DM who receive standard care from their physician. We will compare these groups both within the clinic and at an aggregated, overall level.

This study relies on the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in supporting patient-empowerment strategies. Features of successful diabetes care programs for improving adherence to standards of care, such as the use of diabetes self-management education, checklists that mirror guidelines, and automated reminders are well suited to delivery using an interactive mobile health platform.

Research Questions

This study will evaluate the efficacy of the Care4Life mHealth program by:

1. Evaluating if a short message service via cell phone texting (SMS) protocol will lead to improvements in clinical, utilization and satisfaction outcomes for patients with DM compared to patient who receive standard care.
2. Evaluating if an SMS protocol can be readily adopted by an adult population in both urban and rural areas with a time-consuming chronic illness.