User-centered approach in the development of an eHealth tool for self-management skills in functional insulin therapy to prevent complications of diabetes

Cécile Fezzi; Hélène Refahi; Eliane Albuisson; Eva Feigerlova

doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2022.101968

User-centered approach in the development of an eHealth tool for self-management skills in functional insulin therapy to prevent complications of diabetes

Prev Med Rep. 2022 Aug 30:29:101968. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2022.101968. eCollection 2022 Oct.

Authors

Cécile Fezzi¹, Hélène Refahi¹, Eliane Albuisson², Eva Feigerlova^{1

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Endocrinology, Diabetology and Nutrition, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire and Medical Faculty, Université de Lorraine, Nancy 54000, France.
² DRCI, Département MPI, Unité de Méthodologie, Data Management et Statistique UMDS, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire and Medical Faculty, Université de Lorraine, Nancy 54000, France.
³ INSERM UMR_S 1116 - DCAC, Université de Lorraine, Nancy 54000, France.
⁴ Centre universitaire d'enseignement par simulation (CUESiM), Hôpital virtuel de Lorraine, Faculté de médecine, Nancy F-54000, France.

Abstract

One of the biggest tasks for health professionals is to address the needs of persons with chronic illnesses like type 1 diabetes (T1D) and to support the acquisition of all necessary self-management behaviors. Functional insulin therapy (FIT) enables patients to adapt insulin doses according to everyday situations and reduces the risk of complications of diabetes. The aim was to describe the co-development, with patient as partners, of an eHealth tool for the acquisition of skills in FIT, to evaluate the user's acceptability and learning effectiveness on a sample of T1D patients followed in the University Hospital of Nancy. Subjects were invited to participate between July and August 2020. A total of 35 participants from different professional categories, median age of 41 years (IQR 27; 60) were included. In 22 subjects having access to all learning activities, there were positive relationships between the success score and the task (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient r_s = 0.5), between the intent to use and following parameters: perceived utility (r_s = 0.694), educational adequacy (r_s = 0.786), tasks r_s = (0.664), technology (r_s = 0.520) and ease of use (r_s = 0.659). This pilot study describes a user-centered approach to development of an eHealth tool for the acquisition of self-management skills in FIT. The online tool was well accepted and showed a positive impact on learning. The concept presented here will be useful to prompt future eHealth interventions in T1D or other chronic conditions aiming to increase patients' autonomy to prevent disease-related complications.

Keywords: Functional insulin therapy; Patient participation; Self-management; Type 1 diabetes; eHealth.