EFFICIENCY OF MOBILE APPS FOR SELF-MANAGEMENT IN TYPE II DIABETES: (REVIEW)

Diabetes affects millions of patients worldwide. Despite huge improvements in diabetes pharmacotherapy, innovations in glucose diagnosis and monitoring, and the use of insulin pumps, many people with diabetes are not meeting their glycemic control targets and would benefit from greater flexibility and more individualized diabetes management. All guidelines for the management of type II diabetes mellitus focus on lifestyle changes and self-management. Self-management includes changing eating habits and increasing physical activity. Nowadays, computer and mobile applications are increasingly convenient and widespread tools for self-help, their functions include glycemic control, adapted diets, and educational materials about the disease. Users can be not only patients but also medical personnel. Mobile apps can help people manage their health and well-being, promote healthy lifestyles, and access useful information whenever and wherever they need it. These tools are being implemented almost as quickly as they are being developed. Experts estimate that in 2017, for example, there were 325,000 medical applications available on smartphones, which corresponds to 3.7 billion downloads of mobile medical applications by smartphone users worldwide. The article presents an overview of the effectiveness of electronic devices, programs, and applications for smartphones for the self-management of patients with type II diabetes.