Smartphone Application-Based Rehabilitation Program for Older Adults With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Insights From the...

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Digital Health
• Diabetes Management

Background:

• Older adults with chronic conditions can benefit from smartphone technology.
• Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) presents unique challenges for older adults.
• Rehabilitation programs are crucial for managing T2DM in this demographic.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and develop a smartphone application tailored for T2DM rehabilitation in older adults.
• To validate the usability and content of the developed smartphone application.

Main Methods:

• A three-phase approach: needs assessment, application design/development, and content validation.
• Utilized the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Audiovisual Materials (PEMAT-A/V) for validation.
• Involved direct user interaction, expert review, and observation during testing.

Main Results:

• The application features six modules with diverse content formats (photos, videos, text, flyers).
• Validation involved 8 experts and 25 older adults (over 60) with T2DM.
• Achieved high median understandability (experts >90, users >80) and actionability scores (experts 100, users >100) via PEMAT-A/V.

Conclusions:

• The developed smartphone application has successfully passed content validation.
• The validated application is prepared for further evaluation of its efficacy in T2DM rehabilitation for older adults.