Instrument for assessing mobile technology acceptability in diabetes self-management: a validation and reliability...

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Medical Informatics
• Patient Self-Management

Background:

• Mobile technologies are prevalent but underutilized in chronic disease management due to a lack of assessment tools.
• Assessing patient acceptability is crucial for the successful adoption of mobile health solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• Develop and validate a survey instrument to assess patient attitudes and intentions regarding mobile technology for diabetes mellitus (DM) self-management.
• Identify sociodemographic and quality of life factors influencing mobile technology adoption in DM patients.

Main Methods:

• Instrument design, pilot testing, and validation were conducted.
• The survey was administered to 103 patients with type 1 or type 2 DM.
• Reliability (Cronbach's alpha) and construct validity (factor analysis) were assessed.

Main Results:

• The developed instrument demonstrated high reliability (Cronbach's alpha 0.9-0.97) for assessing attitudes towards mobile technology in DM self-management.
• Younger patients, those with better glycemic control, higher education, and better quality of life showed more favorable attitudes.
• A significant positive correlation was found between quality of life and attitude towards using modern technology.

Conclusions:

• The validated instrument is suitable for measuring the acceptability of mobile technology for DM self-management.
• Most patients have a positive attitude but a moderate intention to use mobile applications for diabetes care.
• Perceived truthfulness and ease of use are significant barriers to the adoption of these technologies.