Dataset Information

Real-World Evidence of User Engagement With Mobile Health for Diabetes Management: Longitudinal Observational Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Patient support apps have risen in popularity and provide novel opportunities for self-management of diabetes. Such apps offer patients to play an active role in monitoring their condition, thereby increasing their own treatment responsibility. Although many health apps require active user engagement to be effective, there is little evidence exploring engagement with mobile health (mHealth).

Objective

This study aims to analyze the extent to which users engage with mHealth for diabetes and identify patient characteristics that are associated with engagement.

Methods

The analysis is based on real-world data obtained by Novo Nordisk's Cornerstones4Care Powered by Glooko diabetes support app. User engagement was assessed as the number of active days and using measures expressing the persistence, longevity, and regularity of interaction within the first 180 days of use. Beta regressions were estimated to assess the associations between user characteristics and engagement outcomes for each module of the app.

Results

A total of 9051 individuals initiated use after registration and could be observed for 180 days. Among these, 55.39% (5013/9051) used the app for one specific purpose. The average user activity ratio varied from 0.05 (medication and food) to 0.55 (continuous glucose monitoring), depending on the module of the app. Average user engagement was lower if modules required manual data entries, although the initial uptake was higher for these modules. Regression analyses further revealed that although more women used the app (2075/3649, 56.86%), they engaged significantly less with it. Older people and users who were recently diagnosed tended to use the app more actively.

Conclusions

Strategies to increase or sustain the use of apps and availability of health data may target the mode of data collection and content design and should take into account privacy concerns of the users at the same time. Users' engagement was determined by various user characteristics, indicating that particular patient groups should be targeted or assisted when integrating apps into the self-management of their disease.

SUBMITTER: Bohm AK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7679206 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Real-World Evidence of User Engagement With Mobile Health for Diabetes Management: Longitudinal Observational Study.

Böhm Anna-Katharina AK Jensen Morten Lind ML Sørensen Mads Reinholdt MR Stargardt Tom T

JMIR mHealth and uHealth 20201106 11

<h4>Background</h4>Patient support apps have risen in popularity and provide novel opportunities for self-management of diabetes. Such apps offer patients to play an active role in monitoring their condition, thereby increasing their own treatment responsibility. Although many health apps require active user engagement to be effective, there is little evidence exploring engagement with mobile health (mHealth).<h4>Objective</h4>This study aims to analyze the extent to which users engage with mHea ...[more]

PMID: 32975198

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Project description:BACKGROUND:The literature suggests that the product design of self-guided electronic health (eHealth) interventions impacts user engagement. Traditional trial settings, however, do not enable the examination of these relationships in real-world use. OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to examine whether the qualities of product design, research evidence, and publicly available data predict real-world user engagement with mobile and Web-based self-guided eHealth interventions. METHODS:This analysis included self-guided mobile and Web-based eHealth interventions available to the public-with their qualities assessed using the Enlight suite of scales. Scales included Usability, Visual Design, User Engagement, Content, Therapeutic Persuasiveness, Therapeutic Alliance, Credibility, and Research Evidence. Behavioral data on real-world usage were obtained from a panel that provides aggregated nonpersonal information on user engagement with websites and mobile apps, based on a time window of 18 months that was set between November 1, 2016 and April 30, 2018. Real-world user engagement variables included average usage time (for both mobile apps and websites) and mobile app user retention 30 days after download. RESULTS:The analysis included 52 mobile apps (downloads median 38,600; interquartile range [IQR] 116,000) and 32 websites (monthly unique visitors median 5689; IQR 30,038). Results point to moderate correlations between Therapeutic Persuasiveness, Therapeutic Alliance, and the 3 user engagement variables (.31?rs?.51; Ps?.03). Visual Design, User Engagement, and Content demonstrated similar degrees of correlation with mobile app engagement variables (.25?rs?.49; Ps?.04) but not with average usage time of Web-based interventions. Positive correlations were also found between the number of reviews on Google Play and average app usage time (r=.58; P<.001) and user retention after 30 days (r=.23; P=.049). Although several product quality ratings were positively correlated with research evidence, the latter was not significantly correlated with real-world user engagement. Hierarchical stepwise regression analysis revealed that either Therapeutic Persuasiveness or Therapeutic Alliance explained 15% to 26% of user engagement variance. Data on Google Play (number of reviews) explained 15% of the variance of mobile app usage time above Enlight ratings; however, publicly available data did not significantly contribute to explaining the variance of the other 2 user-engagement variables. CONCLUSIONS:Results indicate that the qualities of product design predict real-world user engagement with eHealth interventions. The use of real-world behavioral datasets is a novel way to learn about user behaviors, creating new avenues for eHealth intervention research.

Project description:BackgroundHealthcare stakeholders have pronounced both enthusiasm and apprehension over the expanding use of real-world evidence (RWE). The patient community-those who benefit from new treatments but are vulnerable to potential safety risks and whose routine medical encounters are used to generate RWE-has been less vocal. Understanding patient perspectives on the use of RWE to guide clinical decision making and inform regulatory decisions and value assessments is imperative.MethodsWe convened a day-long, multi-stakeholder roundtable in Washington D.C., USA, on 31 July 2017 to gather patient-community views on RWE and related concerns and the communications, information and tools needed by patients to understand, trust, and use RWE. Participants included a convenience sample of National Health Council (NHC) members primarily representing patient groups as well as non-patient members with an interest in RWE. Participants were organized into small, pre-assigned groups, ensuring representativeness across stakeholders and patient leadership. Discussions, including storyboards, notes, and illustrative examples were captured and later analyzed thematically by NHC staff.ResultsTen RWE themes emerged: (1) most patients were unaware of RWE and its actual or potential uses, (2) common definitions for real-world data and RWE are needed, (3) patient organizations need RWE skills and tools, (4) patient-scientist partnerships can help differentiate high-quality RWE, (5) RWE should inform decision making, (6) clinician support is needed for RWE uptake in patient decision making, (7) communications to patients should be balanced and empowering, (8) context of use impacts RWE acceptability/trust, (9) privacy/data ownership require clarity, and (10) patient-generated data are also real-world data (RWD).ConclusionPatients see great possibility in using RWE to understand how a treatment works-to find someone that "looks like me" as assurance of how a treatment might benefit them personally. Patient groups will play a critical role in helping to educate constituents on understanding, contributing to, and using RWE. To maximize patient uptake and the co-development and application of RWE, patient groups require education and tools.

Project description:In a growing number of intervention studies, mobile phones are used to support self-management of people with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, it is difficult to establish knowledge about factors associated with intervention effects, due to considerable differences in research designs and outcome measures as well as a lack of detailed information about participants' engagement with the intervention tool.To contribute toward accumulating knowledge about factors associated with usage and usability of a mobile self-management application over time through a thorough analysis of multiple types of investigation on each participant's engagement.The Few Touch application is a mobile-phone-based self-management tool for patients with T2DM. Twelve patients with T2DM who have been actively involved in the system design used the Few Touch application in a real-life setting from September 2008 until October 2009. During this period, questionnaires and semistructured interviews were conducted. Recorded data were analyzed to investigate usage trends and patterns. Transcripts from interviews were thematically analyzed, and the results were further analyzed in relation to the questionnaire answers and the usage trends and patterns.The Few Touch application served as a flexible learning tool for the participants, responsive to their spontaneous needs, as well as supporting regular self-monitoring. A significantly decreasing (P<.05) usage trend was observed among 10 out of the 12 participants, though the magnitude of the decrease varied widely. Having achieved a sense of mastery over diabetes and experiences of problems were identified as reasons for declining motivation to continue using the application. Some of the problems stemmed from difficulties in integrating the use of the application into each participant's everyday life and needs, although the design concepts were developed in the process where the participants were involved. The following factors were identified as associated with usability and/or usage over time: Integration with everyday life; automation; balance between accuracy and meaningfulness of data with manual entry; intuitive and informative feedback; and rich learning materials, especially about foods.Many grounded design implications were identified through a thorough analysis of results from multiple types of investigations obtained through a year-long field trial of the Few Touch application. The study showed the importance and value of involving patient-users in a long-term trial of a tool to identify factors influencing usage and usability over time. In addition, the study confirmed the importance of detailed analyses of each participant's usage of the provided tool for better understanding of participants' engagement over time.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Patients with diabetes lack information on which commercially available applications (apps) improve diabetes-related outcomes. We conducted a rapid evidence review to examine features, clinical efficacy, and usability of apps for self-management of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in adults. METHODS:Ovid/Medline and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched for systematic reviews and technology assessments. Reference lists of relevant systematic reviews were examined for primary studies. Additional searches for primary studies were conducted online, through Ovid/Medline, Embase, CINAHL, and ClinicalTrials.gov . Studies were evaluated for eligibility based on predetermined criteria, data were extracted, study quality was assessed using a risk of bias tool, information on app features was collected, and app usability was assessed. Results are summarized qualitatively. RESULTS:Fifteen articles evaluating 11 apps were identified: six apps for type 1 and five apps for type 2 diabetes. Common features of apps included setting reminders and tracking blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), medication use, physical activity, and weight. Compared with controls, use of eight apps, when paired with support from a healthcare provider or study staff, improved at least one outcome, most often HbA1c. Patients did not experience improvements in quality of life, blood pressure, or weight, regardless of app used or type of diabetes. Study quality was variable. Of the eight apps available for usability testing, two were scored "acceptable," three were "marginal," and three were "not acceptable." DISCUSSION:Limited evidence suggests that use of some commercially available apps, when combined with additional support from a healthcare provider or study staff, may improve some short-term diabetes-related outcomes. The impact of these apps on longer-term outcomes is unclear. More rigorous and longer-term studies of apps are needed. REGISTRATION:This review was funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The protocol is available at: http://www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/topics/diabetes-mobile-devices/research-protocol .

Project description:BACKGROUND:Diabetes is a significant public health issue. Saudi Arabia has the highest prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the Arab world. Currently, it affects 31.6% of the general population, and the prevalence of T2DM is predicted to rise to 45.36% by 2030. Mobile health (mHealth) offers improved and cost-effective care to people with T2DM. However, the efficiency of engagement strategies and features of this technology need to be reviewed and standardized according to stakeholder and expert perspectives. OBJECTIVE:The main objective of this study was to identify the most agreed-upon features for T2DM self-management mobile apps; the secondary objective was to identify the most agreed-upon strategies that prompt users to use these apps. METHODS:In this study, a 4-round modified Delphi method was applied by experts in the domain of diabetes care. RESULTS:In total, 11 experts with a mean age of 47.09 years (SD 11.70) consented to participate in the study. Overall, 36 app features were generated. The group of experts displayed weak agreement in their ranking of intervention components (Kendall W=0.275; P<.001). The top 5 features included insulin dose adjustment according to carbohydrate counting and blood glucose readings (5.36), alerting a caregiver of abnormal or critical readings (6.09), nutrition education (12.45), contacts for guidance if required (12.64), and offering patient-specific education tailored to the user's goals, needs, and blood glucose readings (12.90). In total, 21 engagement strategies were generated. Overall, the experts showed a moderate degree of consensus in their strategy rankings (Kendall W=0.454; P<.001). The top 5 engagement strategies included a user-friendly design (educational and age-appropriate design; 2.82), a free app (3.73), allowing the user to communicate or send information/data to a health care provider (HCP; 5.36), HCPs prescribing the mobile app in the clinic and asking about patients' app use compliance during clinical visits (6.91), and flexibility and customization (7.91). CONCLUSIONS:This is the first study in the region consisting of a local panel of experts from the diabetes field gathering together. We used an iterative process to combine the experts' opinions into a group consensus. The results of this study could thus be useful for health app developers and HCPs and inform future decision making on the topic.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Mobile health apps are commonly used to support diabetes self-management (DSM). However, there is limited research assessing whether such apps are able to meet the basic requirements of retaining and engaging users. OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to evaluate participants' retention and engagement with My Care Hub, a mobile app for DSM. METHODS:The study employed an explanatory mixed methods design. Participants were people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes who used the health app intervention for 3 weeks. Retention was measured by completion of the postintervention survey. Engagement was measured using system log indices and interviews. Retention and system log indices were presented using descriptive statistics. Transcripts were analyzed using content analysis to develop themes interpreted according to the behavioral intervention technology theory. RESULTS:Of the 50 individuals enrolled, 42 (84%) adhered to the study protocol. System usage data showed multiple and frequent interactions with the app by most of the enrolled participants (42/50, 84%). Two-thirds of participants who inputted data during the first week returned to use the app after week 1 (36/42, 85%) and week 2 (30/42, 71%) of installation. Most daily used features were tracking of blood glucose (BG; 28/42, 68%) and accessing educational information (6/42, 13%). The interview results revealed the app's potential as a behavior change intervention tool, particularly because it eased participants' self-care efforts and improved their engagement with DSM activities such as BG monitoring, physical exercise, and healthy eating. Participants suggested additional functionalities such as extended access to historical analytic data, automated data transmission from the BG meter, and periodic update of meals and corresponding nutrients to further enhance engagement with the app. CONCLUSIONS:The findings of this short-term intervention study suggested acceptable levels of participant retention and engagement with My Care Hub, indicating that it may be a promising tool for extending DSM support and education beyond the confines of a physical clinic.

Dataset Information

Real-World Evidence of User Engagement With Mobile Health for Diabetes Management: Longitudinal Observational Study.

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Real-World Evidence of User Engagement With Mobile Health for Diabetes Management: Longitudinal Observational Study.

Similar Datasets

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