BACKGROUND
A significant percentage of the Nigerian population suffers from Type 2 Diabetes, and a notable portion of these patients also live with other co-morbidities such as hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Despite its increasing prevalence in Nigeria due to factors such as poor eating and exercise habits, there is insufficient reliable data on its incidence in major cities like Port Harcourt, as well as the influence of socio-demographic factors on current self- and collaborative T2D care approaches using technology. This, and the recurring top-down approach, i.e., from the global north to the global south of creating solutions, has resulted in a significant lack of context-specific digital health interventions for T2D care.
OBJECTIVE
The study aims to identify opportunities for designing context-specific digital health interventions for Type 2 Diabetes management, by understanding the influence of socio-demographic factors on self and collaborative care involving patients, caregivers, and community pharmacists, as well as current digital health approaches for Type 2 Diabetes care.
METHODS
We designed questionnaires aligned with the study’s objectives to obtain quantitative data, using the WhatsApp environment and in-person interactions. Following a social media campaign aimed at expanding our reach to a hard-to-reach audience, we delivered the questionnaires through WhatsApp. We also used this opportunity to explore the feasibility of WhatsApp as a data collection tool in our research context, mirroring studies that were conducted in a different context. In total, we obtained 110 responses, with 83 responses from in-person distributions and 27 responses from the WhatsApp approach. Finally, data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical approaches on SPSS and JASP software.
RESULTS
Results were categorized into three, comprising socio-demographic characteristics of diabetes patients in our research context, collaborative care involving different stakeholders, and current digital health approaches for the management of Type 2 Diabetes. We discovered that men with Type 2 Diabetes were significantly older (mean = 61 years), had a higher average household income, and generally held higher academic degrees compared to women (P = .03). We also discovered that there was no statistically significant relationship between gender and the frequency of hospital (P = .597) or pharmacy visits (P = .480), and cultural differences did not influence the incidence of the disease. Regarding current management approaches, 75.45% and 60% of the population relied on prescribed medications and dietary modifications respectively, while 35.45% and 20% explored traditional medicines and spirituality respectively. Most participants were unfamiliar with technologies for diabetes care (74.54%), and 89.21% of participants who indicated their use of technology were only familiar with glucometers. Finally, participants were more inclined to seek for health information in person (87.27%) than through digital means
CONCLUSIONS
By identifying the influence of socio-demographic factors on diabetes care and health/information seeking behaviors, we were able to identify opportunities for designing context-specific digital health interventions for diabetes care.