Background: Online risk assessment tools for type 2 diabetes communicate risk information to motivate individuals to take actions and reduce their risk if needed. The impact of these tools on follow-up behaviours (e.g., General Practitioner (GP) visits, improvement in health behaviours) is unknown. This study examined effectiveness of a personalised video story and text-based message on GP and health professional visitations and health behaviours, of individuals assessed as 'high risk' following completion of the online Australian Type 2 Diabetes Risk Assessment Tool (AUSDRISK).
Methods: A Randomised Controlled Trial (conducted between October 2018 and April 2019) included 477 participants with a high score (≥12). The control group received a text-based message (TM) and the intervention group received both the text-based message and a personalised video story (TM+VS) encouraging them to take follow-up action. Participants reported follow-up actions (one- and three months), and physical activity (PA), dietary behaviours and body weight (baseline, one and three months). Generalized Linear Mixed Models and chi-squared tests were used to test differences in outcomes between groups over time.
Results: The intervention was not more effective for the TM+VS group compared to the TM only group (p-values>0.05 for all outcomes). More participants in the TM only group (49.8% compared to 40.0% in the VS+TM group) visited either a GP or health professional (p = 0.18). During the 3-month follow-up: 44.9% of all participants visited a GP (36.7%) and/or other health professional (31.0%). Significant improvements were found between baseline and three months, in both groups for weekly physical activity, daily fruit and vegetable intake and weight status.
Conclusions: Messages provided with online diabetes risk assessment tools to those with high-risk, positively influence GP and health professional visitations and promote short-term improvements in health behaviours that may contribute to an overall reduction in the development of type 2 diabetes.
Trial registration: Australia New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry; ACTRN12619000809134.