Empowering patients in primary care: a qualitative exploration of the usability and utility of an online diabetes self-management tool

TL;DR

This study explores how useful and easy to use an online diabetes management tool is for patients in Singapore's primary care.

Contribution

The study provides patient feedback to improve an online diabetes self-management tool for primary care settings.

Findings

Users found the tool useful for providing comprehensive and reliable diabetes information.

Most users reported the tool was easy to use but suggested improvements for navigation and clarity.

Abstract

Despite the potential advantages of Internet-based diabetes self-management education, its adoption was not widespread among Singapore’s public primary care clinics (polyclinics). An interactive online tool was thus developed to help educate patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and was now ready for user testing before implementation.

To explore the perceived utility and usability of the educational tool in patients with suboptimally-controlled T2DM in a Singapore primary care setting.

In-depth interviews were used to gather qualitative data from multi-ethnic Asian adults who had suboptimally-controlled T2DM. A total of 17 IDIs were conducted between April 2022 to March 2023, audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed to identify emergent themes via thematic analysis.

Regarding utility, users found the educational tool useful because it provided them with information that was comprehensive, accessible, reliable, and manageable. Regarding usability, the majority of users reported that the educational tool was easy to use, and suggested ways to improve navigational cues, visual clarity, readability and user engagement.

Participants generally found the educational tool useful and easy to use. A revised educational tool will be developed based on their feedback and implemented in clinical practice.

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