App design features important for diabetes self-management as determined by the self-determination theory on motivation: content analysis of survey responses from adults requiring insulin therapy
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Abstract
Background: Using a diabetes app can improve glycemic control; however, the use of diabetes apps is low, possibly due to design issues that affect patient motivation. Objective: This study aimed to describes how adults with diabetes requiring insulin perceive diabetes apps based on 3 key psychological needs (competence, autonomy, and connectivity) described by the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) on motivation. Methods: This was a qualitative analysis of data collected during a crossover randomized laboratory trial (N=92) testing 2 diabetes apps. Data sources included (1) observations during app testing and (2) survey responses on desired app features. Guided by the SDT, coding categories included app functions that could address psychological needs for motivation in self-management: competence, autonomy, and connectivity. Results: Patients described design features that addressed needs for competence, autonomy, and connectivity. To promote competence, electronic data recording and analysis should help patients track and understand blood glucose (BG) results necessary for planning behavior changes. To promote autonomy, BG trend analysis should empower patients to set safe and practical personalized behavioral goals based on time and the day of the week. To promote connectivity, app email or messaging function could share data reports and communicate with others on self-management advice. Additional themes that emerged are the top general app designs to promote positive user experience: patient-friendly; automatic features of data upload; voice recognition to eliminate typing data; alert or reminder on self-management activities; and app interactivity of a sound, message, or emoji change in response to keeping or not keeping BG in the target range. Conclusions: The application of the SDT was useful in identifying motivational app designs that address the psychological needs of competence, autonomy, and connectivity. User-centered design concepts, such as being patient-friendly, differ from the SDT because patients need a positive user experience (ie, a technology need). Patients want engaging diabetes apps that go beyond data input and output. Apps should be easy to use, provide personalized analysis reports, be interactive to affirm positive behaviors, facilitate data sharing, and support patient-clinician communication.
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This aligns with Self-Determination Theory, which emphasizes competence, autonomy, and relatedness in chronic disease management.
“This aligns with Self-Determination Theory, which emphasizes competence, autonomy, and relatedness in chronic disease management (39) (40) (41).”
From Impact of digital health on Type 2 diabetes management: a randomised controlled trial of the ‘TreC Diabete’ platform (TELEMECHRON Study) (2025) · cites this paper as [40]
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- Authors
- Fu, H. N. C., Wyman, J. F., Peden-McAlpine, C. J., Draucker, C. B., Schleyer, T., & Adam, T. J.
- Affiliations
- Regenstrief Institute (US)
- University of Minnesota (US)
- Indiana University Indianapolis (US)
- Corresponding author
- Fu, Helen N C
- ORCID
- Venue
- JMIR Diabetes
- Publisher
- JMIR Publications Inc.
- Published
- 2023-02-24
- Volume
- 8
- Pages
- e38592
- ISSN
- 2371-4379 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC10007004
- OpenAlex
- W4312851651
- Cited by
- 15
- References
- 63
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 4.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- JMIR Diabetes (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
- Eli Lilly and Company
- Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (UL1TR002529)
- Lilly Endowment
- Sigma Theta Tau International
- National Institutes of Health (UL1TR002529)
- U.S. National Library of Medicine (T15LM012502)
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes Management and Education
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Keywords
- diabetes apps, diabetes self-management, self-determination theory, motivation, insulin therapy, app design features, competence, autonomy, connectivity, blood glucose monitoring, glycemic control, user experience, patient-centered design, data sharing
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