Diabetes care is undergoing a dramatic transition as a result of technological breakthroughs. Fatehi et al. (2018) acknowledge that diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease defined by persistent hyperglycemia that needs lifetime treatment to avoid or postpone debilitating symptoms or premature death. This complicated health condition requires continual self-monitoring, multidisciplinary team involvement, frequent patient-provider contact, and community engagement (Fatehi et al., 2018). Thus, the paper presents mixed methods research on diabetes patient health education using digital technologies.
Digital medicine and artificial intelligence can transform the diabetes field. Fagherazzi and Ravaud (2018) conducted a study with the purpose of addressing the alternatives to diabetes prevention and management. Data created by the internet and digital technology has enormous potential. When paired with clinical data, it has the potential to enhance diabetes management and quality of life while also reducing the risk of diabetes-related complications. The research findings claim that diabetes may be classified as an e-disease in all forms (Fagherazzi & Ravaud, 2018). The world is shifting from where patients are defined by only a few recent measures of fasting glucose levels and glycated hemoglobin to where patients, nurses, and research scientists may evaluate thousands of data points of many critical indicators at the same time.
Innovative digital technologies can improve the efficiency of today’s healthcare systems. Fatehi et al. (2018) conducted a study to offer a comprehensive overview of various ICT-based interventions for diabetes management, as well as the problems associated with their implementation and future directions. Clinical videoconferencing, for instance, is the most widely used kind of synchronous telemedicine. Videoconferencing can replace traditional in-person consultations in diabetes outpatient clinics (Fatehi et al., 2018). Furthermore, persons with diabetes who reside in remote and rural locations showed significant satisfaction with videoconferencing-based outreach diabetes clinics.
Fatehi et al. (2018) also state that mobile applications can frequently assist patients in improving their self-management abilities by constantly monitoring and giving instructional recommendations. They also aid in medication adherence and provide tailored feedback. Several diabetes teaching games have been developed, and a number of them are publicly available via websites or mobile applications (Fatehi et al., 2018). Moreover, according to research, playing serious games is enjoyable and can help users learn more. Through a number of applications, digital health can play a significant role in improving diabetes care.
Digital diabetes solutions automatically gather, transport, and evaluate critical diabetes data to educate patients and allow nurses and health practitioners to make better therapy decisions. Phillip et al. (2020) acknowledge that diabetes’ rising prevalence, along with a global lack of healthcare workers, demands the development of novel ways of diabetes care delivery. The technology will assist in increasing access to care and reduce the strain on patients with diabetes. Remote monitoring, counseling, education, and some physical tests are particularly useful in rural regions where even basic healthcare services are limited or absent (Phillip et al., 2020). These technologies vastly improve healthcare systems’ ability to fulfill the requirements of rising diabetes populations.
Diabetes necessitates a high degree of health literacy and numeracy. Shan et al. (2019) examine the methods and components of several effective interventions for insulin control, diabetes education, self-management, and prevention. For instance, mHealth is suitable for diabetes management because it may enable regular interaction with patients and prompt transmission of health information, as well as facilitate glycemic control and promote self-management. Shan et al. (2019) claim that the Accu-Chek Connectapp (Roche) collects SMBG values from the Accu-Chek Connect blood glucose meter and contains an insulin bolus calculator and photographic food diary to help with carbohydrate counting. Because of the simplicity with which data from connected blood glucose meters can be transferred, glucose patterns may be conveniently given to patients for self-management and physicians for therapy modifications.
Additionally, mHealth interventions have the potential to assist self-management and diabetes education to increase care delivery. The BlueStar program sends real-time automatic educational and behavioral messages based on patient-reported data (Shan et al., 2019). SMS interventions are more accessible than smartphone applications because they only require a basic cell phone with no cellular data or WiFi, making them more practicable in underserved populations (Shan et al., 2019). Hence, diabetes education offered via mHealth may help nurses communicate with patients and provide more effective and timely assistance. Nonetheless, additional research is needed to analyze how individual characteristics influence patient engagement with mHealth tools and therapeutic results in order to allow for more careful customization of mHealth.
To conclude, the data revealed that diabetic patient health education might be accomplished through the use of digital technology. The apps, video consultations, serious games, and SMS messages may be valuable in future nursing practice because they enable improved diabetes care delivery, patient education, and continuous monitoring of essential indicators to reduce the risk of diabetes-related problems. By continually monitoring and providing instructional advice, mobile applications can frequently aid patients in improving their self-management abilities. Furthermore, remote monitoring, counseling, education, and various physical exams via eHealth are especially beneficial in rural areas.
References
Fagherazzi, G., & Ravaud, P. (2018). Digital diabetes: Perspectives for diabetes prevention, management and research. Diabetes & Metabolism 45(4), 322-329. Web.
Fatehi, F., Menon, A., & Bird, D. (2018). Diabetes care in the digital era: A synoptic overview. Current Diabetes Reports, 18(7). Web.
Phillip, M., Bergenstal, R. M., Close, K. L., Danne, T., Garg, S. K., Heinemann, L., Hirsch, I. B., Kovatchev, B. P., Laffel, L. M., Mohan, V., Parkin, C. G, & Battelino, T. (2020). The digital/virtual diabetes clinic – the future is now. Recommendations from an international panel on diabetes digital technologies introduction. Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, 23(2), 146-154. Web.
Shan, R., Sarkar, S., & Martin, S. S. (2019). Digital health technology and mobile devices for the management of diabetes mellitus: state of the art. Diabetologia, 62, 877-887. Web.