A mobile diabetes management application helped improve blood glucose monitoring among adolescents with Type 1 diabetes, according to a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, FierceMobileHealthcare reports.
About the App
For the study, researchers from the Centre for Global eHealth Innovation at the University Health Network in Toronto provided an iPhone app and a glucose meter to 20 adolescents with diabetes.
The app sent messages prompting the adolescents to take glucose measurements at regular intervals. It also recommended behavior changes for teens who had difficulty adhering to their schedule.
The teens earned points each time they measured their glucose levels. For every 200 points that they earned, the teens received $1 in iTunes rewards (Jackson, FierceMobileHealthcare, 5/11).
Study Findings
The study found that the daily average frequency of blood glucose measurements increased from 2.4 mg/dl per day to 3.6 mg/dl per day -- a 50% increase -- after the teens started using the diabetes management app.
The teens received a total of 161 iTunes rewards -- or an average of eight rewards per participant -- from participating in the program.
Eighty-eight percent of study participants said they would continue to use the app (Byers, CMIO, 5/14).