Mobile diabetes management system for Saudi Arabia embedding social networking and cognitive behavioral therapy modules

• Main Author: Alanzi, Turki
• Other Authors: Philip, Nada
• Published: Kingston University 2014
• Subjects: 616.4; Computer science and informatics
• Online Access: https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.702546

We present in this thesis the design and development of a new mobile diabetes management system for social behavioural change and management tailored for Saudi diabetic patients (SANAD - Saudi Arabia Networking for Aiding Diabetes). The hey goals of SANAD are to close the diabetes management loop by providing remote monitoring for diabetic patients, a further therapeutic channel to the patient, an opportunity to increase diabetic patients' health awareness, and feedback to help diabetic patients maintain a regular blood glucose level. The key system components consist of: (i) a smart mobile diabetes management module (MDM-M) used for collecting blodd glucose data; (ii) a social networking module (SN-M), acting as an enhancement module for the MDM-M, the key function of which is currently focused on education purposes; and (iii) a cognitive behavioral therapy module (CBT-M),a cting as a supplementary module to MDM-M. This module was designed on the smart mobile platform and used only by patients who require CBT therapeutic intervention. A usability study for the SANAD system is also presented in this thesis to validate the acceptability of using mobile technologies amongst diabetic patient in KSA and Gulf region. The preliminary results of the study indicated general acceptance of the patients in using the system with higher usability rating in type 2 diabetic patients. In general, the study concluded that the concept of SANAD system is considered acceptable tool in particularly with Type 2 diabetes patients. A clinical evaluation study of SANAD system is also conducted in this thesis to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of the system. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of SANAD system on: 1) improve glycaemic control; 2) improve health awareness; and 3) enhance self-efficacy. Secondary aims qualitatively evaluated the content of communication in SANAD system. The key preliminary results of this study provided in evidence that SANAD has a positive impact on promoting knowledge of diabetes in individuals living with type 2 diabetes, and reflects the generally positive outcomes of reducing glycated hemoglobin control (HbAlc (%)), and increasing self-efficacy.