Diabetes Companion App for Adults With Diabetes and Their Carers

Nanyang Technological University

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Diabetes; Diabetes Mellitus; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Diabetes Type 2

Treatments: Other: GLOW

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05535842

NanyangTU_GLOW

Details and patient eligibility

About

Diabetes self-management support, education, and training are increasingly being delivered through digital technology such as mobile phones. This protocol aims to evaluate the effectiveness of GLOW, a diabetes companion app with a conversational agent.

Full description

Adopting a healthier lifestyle and disease self-management skills is critical to reducing the risk of diabetes-related complications. Internationally, and in Singapore, the majority of people with diabetes report not having received structured diabetes education, while others have the knowledge and fail to apply it in their daily lives.

Key self-management behaviours recommended by the American Association of Diabetes Educators include physical activity, healthy diet, blood glucose monitoring, and medication adherence, but equally important is healthy coping to maintain a positive attitude toward diabetes management. Life-long patient education and continuous empowerment are paramount to successful self-management in people with diabetes, as recommended by evidence-based diabetes management guidelines.

In addition to patients, their informal carers often play an important role in the management of diabetes. As such, diabetes education for informal carers is essential to achieve the best possible diabetes outcomes in the patient.

There are hundreds of diabetes apps available for the public to download and use, but few are rigorously evaluated for clinically meaningful outcomes. We designed GLOW, a diabetes companion app with a conversational agent, to support people with diabetes and their carers with self-management and knowledge.

Enrollment: 224 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 21+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. Diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and attending Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) Diabetes Clinic OR caring for a person with type 2 diabetes
2. 21 years old or above
3. Able to speak and read English
4. Singapore nationality or permanent resident or foreign domestic worker (for carers)
5. Own a personal mobile device which can download study mobile app
6. Access to the internet

Exclusion criteria

1. Are unable to consent;
2. Are pregnant (for patients)
3. Received formal training in medicine or allied health services

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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224 participants in 2 patient groups

Intervention

Experimental group

Description:

Participants in the intervention group will use GLOW the conversational agent/app for 6 months in addition to their usual diabetes care offered by their attending doctor or endocrinologist.

Treatment:

Other: GLOW

Control

No Intervention group

Description:

The control group will continue with their usual care, i.e., scheduled consultations with their diabetes team at TTSH and any consultations with healthcare professionals and diabetes education support received either during the consultations or during dedicated times if there are any. They will not be asked to use GLOW during the trial.