The influence of mobile applications on self management amongst adolescents with type 1 diabetes

Abstract

Overview of the topic: Type 1 diabetes is a condition in which the body is unable to produce insulin resulting in hyperglycaemia. There are various disabling complications that may arise from having diabetes. To prevent these complications, it is crucial to maintain blood glucose through good self-management (Mayo Clinic, 2023). In this dissertation the use of mobile applications in the self-management of adolescents with type 1 diabetes will be studied. The research question: Does using a mobile application help adolescents with type 1 diabetes self-manage their condition compared to routine care PICO elements: The population (P) studied was adolescents with type 1 diabetes. The intervention (I) was mobile applications. The comparison (C) was routine care. The outcome (O) was self-management of diabetes. Method: In the literature search, the PICO elements were used to identify keywords, Various search tools were used to carry out a comprehensive search from a number of databases including Academic Search Ultimate, CINHAL complete and Cochrane Clinical. Limiters and inclusion/exclusion criteria were used to narrow down the search results. Irrelevant articles were excluded using the PRISMA 2020. Results: A total of five key articles were chosen. Two were RCTs, one study was a mixed Methodology study and two were qualitative studies. Quantitative methods failed to find a significant reduction in HbA1c after the use of mobile applications. This could be attributed to methodological issues in the studies. On the other hand, the qualitative studies found that perceived mobile applications as being helpful towards self-management. Implications and Recommendations: Research needs to be conducted on the views of healthcare professionals and parents regarding the use of mobile applications and studies with more robust methods need to be conducted to examine the efficacy of the apps in reducing. Clinical protocols may include the use of mobile apps in the care of adolescents with diabetes.