Adherence to evidence-based guidelines among diabetes self-management apps.
Smartphone apps can provide real-time, interactive self-management aid to individuals with diabetes. It is currently unclear whether existing diabetes self-management apps follow evidence-based guidelines. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent to which existing diabetes self-management apps address the seven self-management behaviors recommended by the American Association of Diabetes Educators (the AADE7™). The term "diabetes" identified relevant self-management apps via the Apple App Store search engine in March 2012. Ratings were based on app descriptions and downloads. Chi-square analyses assessed differences in apps based on developer type. Apps promoted a median of two AADE7™ skills. Overall reliability between description and download ratings was good (kappa = .66). Reliability of individual skills was variable (kappa = .25 to .91). Most diabetes apps do not conform to evidence-based recommendations, and future app reviews would benefit from testing app performance. Future apps may also benefit from theory-based designs.
Department of Psychology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 152 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA ; Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 112 Paterson Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 USA.
Jessica Y
JY
Breland
Vivian M
VM
Yeh
Jessica
J
Yu
Apps; Diabetes; Self-management; Smartphone; Technology; mHealth