An evaluation framework and a pilot study of a mobile platform for diabetes self-management: insights from pediatric users.
According to WHO, pediatric diabetes is a rising global public health problem, with increasing impact on developing nations. This study summarizes a multidimensional, scalable pilot evaluation of a diabetes self-management platform combining mobile technology with social networking to capture four key metrics of Type 1 diabetes self-management, associated social interactions, and gaming features providing targeted feedback to 8 pediatric users. Based on their 2-month interaction with the application, we analyze click-stream data from social interactions, key health metrics, text comments, and usability and satisfaction surveys to evaluate engagement with the platform and effectiveness in controlling blood glucose using a product-process-program framework. Our preliminary results indicate that this framework was successful in demonstrating the potential of the mobile health platform to effectively leverage the growing use of mobile applications and social media to present a unique benefit that engaged pediatric users and provided useful insights for self-health management.
The H. John Heinz III College, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Rema
R
Padman
Sravani
S
Jaladi
Sean
S
Kim
Saumitra
S
Kumar
Philip
P
Orbeta
Kate
K
Rudolph
Tony
T
Tran
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D004360:Drug Therapy, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D063731:Mobile Applications / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012648:Self Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012986:Software Validation