The Spanish Availability and Readability of Diabetes Apps
Open accessAbstract
Background: There is growing evidence supporting the use of mobile health apps for the management of diabetes. Given the disproportionate impact of diabetes on Latinos, especially those with limited English proficiency (LEP) and low literacy, diabetes apps have the potential to address existing health disparities. Our study aimed to understand the current accessibility of diabetes apps for these populations. Methods: We searched the Android and iOS stores for the term “diabetes” to identify patient-facing diabetes apps. We reviewed the app store descriptions and user interfaces for Spanish availability. We assessed the readability of the descriptions in English and Spanish using the Lexile Analyzer and the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Grade Level. Results: Overall, in reviewing both app stores, 30% (28/92) of apps had descriptions available in Spanish, of which 41% (18/44) of Android apps were available in Spanish and 21% (10/48) iOS apps were available in Spanish. In addition, the readability of 94% (90/96) for the app store descriptions was above the recommended reading level for patient education material in English and Spanish. The overall kappa coefficient for app translation quality assessment was .72, reflecting moderate interrater agreement. Conclusions: Despite the evidence supporting the use of diabetes apps, they do not cater to the language needs of LEP Latino patients.
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Access to diverse language technology, especially in apps, continues to be limited.
“Despite this promise, access to diverse language technology, especially in apps, continues to be limited.”
From Technology enabled clinical care (TECC): Protocol for a prospective longitudinal cohort study of smartphone-augmented mental health treatment (2021) · cites this paper as [58]
A 2018 review of diabetes-related Spanish language apps found only 25% of Android and 19% of IOS apps allowed users to fully interact with the app in Spanish.
“A 2018 review of diabetes-related Spanish language apps found only 25% of Android and 19% of IOS apps allowed users to fully interact with the app in Spanish [58]”
From Technology enabled clinical care (TECC): Protocol for a prospective longitudinal cohort study of smartphone-augmented mental health treatment (2021) · cites this paper as [58]
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- Authors
- Rodriguez, J. A., & Singh, K.
- Affiliations
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (US)
- University of Michigan (US)
- Corresponding author
- Rodriguez, Jorge A.
- Venue
- Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2018-01-02
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 719-724
- ISSN
- 1932-2968 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6154248
- OpenAlex
- W2782127036
- Cited by
- 30
- References
- 18
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 5
- FWCI
- 4.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Office of Diversity and Inclusion
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Interpreting and Communication in Healthcare
- Keywords
- diabetes apps, mobile health, readability, limited English proficiency, Hispanic patients, health disparities, translation quality, patient education materials, low literacy
- MeSH terms
- Diabetes Mellitus, Hispanic or Latino, Humans, Language, Patient Education as Topic, Comprehension, Health Literacy, Mobile Applications
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