Augmented Reality for Therapeutic Education in Patients with Diabetes: Short- and Mid-Term Learning Benefits

This work aims to evaluate the effectiveness of knowledge transfer through an Augmented Reality (AR) application, assessing short- and mid-term retention in children and adults with Type 1 diabetes. One objective is to determine if the AR application helps patients learn about the carbohydrate content of different foods (N = 27 Ecuadorian patients). Another objective is to evaluate the usability and satisfaction perceived by the patients. An additional objective is to compare the data from our study in Ecuador with data from a similar study conducted with Spanish children (N = 42). The results show that the AR application is effective for short-term knowledge transfer (p < 0.001) and has a suggestively significant effect on mid-term retention (p < 0.05). The AR application had an equalizing effect on knowledge outcomes between the groups (Ecuador and Spain) despite initial differences. The AR application significantly increased patients' knowledge (p < 0.001) and was effective for both children and adults. Patient satisfaction was high, and learning outcomes were not influenced by age or gender. The AR application is effective for short-term knowledge transfer and mid-term retention, benefiting children and adults regardless of gender. The patients' experience was very positive. Therefore, the AR application is a valuable tool for therapeutic education in diabetes since it offers support that is easily accessible on mobile devices, enabling autonomous learning, and it contributes to the creation of innovative, patient-centered healthcare solutions.