Does Implementation of mobile web app for medication reminder and health education increase treatment adherence among Hispanic women with type II diabetes (Coursework Sample)

Does Implementation of mobile web app for medication reminder and health education increase treatment adherence among Hispanic women with type II diabetes
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Does Implementation of mobile web app for medication reminder and health education increase treatment adherence among Hispanic women with type II diabetes
Abstract
Type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is today an increasing and significant health problem. Hispanic-Americans are amongst the high-risk ethnic groups given that they have a disproportionate burden of obesity along with its related comorbidities. The problem of poor adherence to prescribed treatments is considerably complex. Compliance to therapy in patients who have T2DM is dependent on various variables, including variables that are specific to the provider, to the patient, and to the treatment. The proposed solution to improve adherence to diabetes medication among Hispanic women in the implementation of mobile web app for medication reminder and health education. Several studies carried out over the past few years contribute to the body of evidence that the use of mobile web apps actually help to increase medication adherence. Medication reminders and educational messages provided to patients using mobile phones have been shown to increase adherence to medication and to improve patient outcomes.
Key studies contributing to the body of evidence
For the intervention proposed in this project, the diabetic Hispanic women will receive several text messages everyday that provide education on how to manage the disease, as well as reminders to stick to the recommended self-care measures. An adherence app could potentially merge all of the patient’s medication-specific information and in so doing provide a more streamlined process for educating the individual regarding the care of their disease (Dayer et al., 2013). Katz (2013) pointed out that the ubiquitous availability of mobile phones as well as new electronic disease management programs has created possible new ways for enhancing self-management of chronic illnesses. Smart phones are internet-ready multi-use gadgets which allow continuous access to information and communication, and they can do several tasks (Linn, Vervloet & van Dijk 2011). Making use of a Smartphone app is a new method for improving adherence and patient behavior considering that it educates and involves the patient, it is always available, and it offers a repository for patient-specific and medication-specific information (Dayer et al., 2013; Campos, 2007).
Health applications and Smartphone technology are today transforming health promotion. Apps, short for applications, are software products that can be downloaded and they run on mobile devices (Whittemore, 2007). Smartphones run over open operating platforms including Android, BlackBerry OS, and iPhone OS and they employ wireless communication networks. Health applications on Smartphone are highly utilized apps considering that about 30 percent of adults in the United States use health apps (Katz, 2013). Smartphones are basically mobile devices that have capabilities for wireless internet access, video viewing, text messaging, and e-mail. Eysenbach (2011) stated that health promotion professionals should understand how to utilize smartphones and apps in health interventions
In an quasi-experimental study that Nundy, Dick and Peek (2014) carried out from May 2012 to February 2013, they explored the impact of a 6-month mobile health demonstration amongst adults who had diabetes, and who belonged to an employee health plan of an academic medical center. Besides pre-post improvements in glycemic control as well as satisfaction of patients with the overall care, the researchers observed a net cost savings of 8.8%. At the University of Chicago Medicine, Nundy, Dick and Peek (2014) initiated a disease management program based upon the usage of mobile phones for the employee health plan members. The program dubbed CareSmarts makes use of automated text-messages software in engaging patients in self-care and in facilitating care coordination between nursing staffs at the health plans and doctors at the medical center. The researchers focused on diabetes given that it is a good example of a condition wherein self-care behavior is associated with clinical outcomes. CareSmarts is essentially an mHealth diabetes program that offers self-management support as well as team-based care management for individuals suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus via automated text messages (Nundy, Dick & Peek, 2014). In the program, nursing staffs employed a web-based enrollment form which included the diabetes care plan, mobile phone number, as well as best times for receiving text messages. The subjects in CareSmarts get messages regarding diabetes self-care, several prompts to engage in a certain action such as It is time to check your blood glucose, in addition to some questions for instance Do you need to refill your medicines?, to which the diabetic would respond by texting. In the 6-month period of the study, the average subject received 6 calls from a nursing staff. Participants acknowledged that the messages assisted them with self-care including medication adherence and in health education. Adherence to T2DM medications increased from 83% to 91% (Nundy, Dick & Peek, 2014). This study indicates that the mobile web-based app resulted in increased adherence to diabetes medications and improved clinical outcomes.
Another study that supports the proposed solution is the one conducted by Fenerty et al. (2011) in which they carried out a meta-analysis with the aim of systematically reviewing published randomized controlled trials of reminder interventions to help patients adhere to the prescribed medicines. The interventions in the studies comprised reminder phone calls, interactive voice response systems, text messages, videotelephone calls, pagers, as well as programmed electronic audiovisual reminder devices. Adherence of patients to medications is a vital part of the treatment of chronic illness (Gazmararian, Ziemer, & Barnes, 2009). Hayakawa et al. (2013) noted that an understanding of patient adherence along with its modulating factors is of great importance in correctly interpreting the effectiveness of treatment as well as the hindrances to therapeutic success. In their meta-analysis, Fenerty et al. (2011) measured adherence to medication as the number of dosages taken in comparison to the number prescribed in a specified time period. The findings revealed a statistically considerable increment in medication adherence in groups that received a reminder intervention relative to the controls. In essence, 8 out of the 11 studies indicated a large increase in adherence for at least one of the reminder group arms in relation to the control groups that did not receive reminder intervention (Fenerty et al., 2011). The findings of this research study support the proposed implementation that entails the use of mobile web-based app for medication reminder and health education to increase treatment adherence among Hispanic women with type II diabetes.
The other study which supports the proposed solution is the study conducted by Thomas and Wing (2013) in which the authors evaluated smartphones as a way of providing crucial components of established and empirically confirmed behavioral weight loss treatment, emphasis being put to adherence to self-monitoring. Thomas and Wing (2013) pointed out that group and individual-based behavioral weight loss treatment (BWL) results in an average weight loss of between 5 and 10 percent of initial body weight, which improves both well-being and health. Nonetheless, weight loss treatment is an expensive treatment that is intensive and not broadly available (El-Gayar et al., 2013; Morak et al., 2012). Smartphones can be a valuable tool to promote adherence of crucial facets of weight loss treatment, for instance self-monitoring, and in so doing facilitating weight loss treatment while decreasing the need for rigorous in-person contact (Thomas & Wing, 2013). The Health-E-Call treatment consisted of a minimal in-person component that comprised mainly of short weigh-ins, a Smartphone-based component, in addition to supplementary paper weight loss lessons. The focus of the intervention was the Smartphone-based component, and it was the main means of intervention delivery. To take part in the study, an Apple iPhone was needed. Participants who did not have an Apple iPhone were provided with an iPhone 3GS to use during the study. The Smartphone-based treatment component was split into three parts: short videos for skills training and education; feedback both human and automated; and self-monitoring. Two separate Smartphone apps were employed for feedback, self-monitoring, as well as delivery of video weight-loss lesson: DailyBurn, a commercially available Smartphone app; and Health-E-Call app, an application that was developed by the research team (Thomas & Wing, 2013). The findings showed that the sophisticated Smartphone technology was effective in enhancing self-monitoring as well as delivery of empirically corroborated Body Weight Loss content and interventionist feedback in a formal weight-loss program.
The other equally important study which is in support of the proposed solution is the one conducted by eHealth Initiative (eHI). According to this study, mHealth apps are actually helping socially disadvantaged people with diabetes to better manage their diabetes. The California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) supported this study, and it reported that patients who are disadvantaged are making use of mobile devices and smartphones in overcoming barriers that usually contribute to poor management of diabetes, for instance lack of access to providers of health care (Hollern, 2012). In excess of 25 mill...