Investigating the e-Health Literacy of Patients with Type ۲ Diabetes in the Use of Self-Care Mobile Health Applications

Aims: One of the most common types of diabetes is type ۲ diabetes (T۲D). Self-management can play a significant role in controlling the disease. The positive effects of mobile health (m-Health) applications on self-care and knowledge enhancement among patients with diabetes have been established. This study was conducted to investigate the e-Health literacy of patients with T۲D in using self-care m-Health applications in Kerman City in ۲۰۲۳. Instrument & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in ۲۰۲۳. Patients referred to a selected clinic in Kerman City were the research population of this study. A total of ۱۹۸ patients were included in the study using available sampling and the questionnaire was distributed among them. Frequency, mean, and standard deviation were used to describe the data. Analytical statistical methods such as Mann-Whitney were also employed. Findings: ۱۸۸ individuals participated in this research, of which ۱۰۳ (۵۴.۸%) were men and the rest were women. The average age of the participants in the research was ۵۰.۱۷±۱۲.۹۱ years. The average health literacy score of the participants in the study was ۲۴.۷۵±۹.۰۴. Among the patients, only ۳۹ participants used diabetes applications to manage their disease and ۳۳ patients (۸۲.۵%) reported the daily blood glucose level monitoring feature as the most useful feature of the application. Conclusion: The participants have a low level of e-health literacy. About one-third of patients use diabetes applications to control their disease. The most helpful component of the studied apps is the daily blood glucose level report.

کلیدواژه ها:

Literacy ، e-Health Literacy ، m-Health ، Diabetes