Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Jun 8, 2020
Date Accepted: Jul 14, 2020
Health technology readiness profiles among Danish individuals with type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Information technologies (IT) are increasingly implemented in type 2 diabetes (T2D) treatment as a resource for remotely supported healthcare. However, the effectiveness of information technologies (IT) to improve healthcare may depend on the user’s readiness for health technology.
Objective:
We aimed to investigate readiness for health technology in relation to mental well-being, sociodemographic and disease-related characteristics among individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D).
Methods:
Individuals with T2D (age ≥18 years) referred to a lifestyle program completed a questionnaire survey covering: (1) background information, (2) the WHO-5 Well-Being Index, (3) receptiveness to IT use in physical activity; and (4) the Readiness and Enablement Index for Health Technology (READHY), constituted by dimensions related to self-management, social support, and eHealth literacy. Individuals were divided into profiles using cluster analysis based on their READHY scores. Outcomes included differences across profiles in mental well-being, sociodemographic and disease-related characteristics.
Results:
Individuals with T2D (n=155; age (mean (SD)), 60.2 (10.7) years; sex, 55.5% men) were stratified into five readiness for health technology profiles based on the cluster analysis. While no differences in sociodemographic and disease-related characteristics were observed across profiles, we identified three vulnerable subgroups of individuals: Profile 3 (n=21, 13.5%), younger age (53.4 (8.9) years), low mental well-being (42.7 (14.7)), and emotional distress (1.69 (0.38)); Profile 4 (n=20, 12.9%), older age (66.3 (9.0) years), less IT use (50.0% used IT for communication), and low to medium eHealth literacy; and Profile 5 (n=36, 23.2%), low mental well-being (43.4 (20.1)) and low readiness for health technology.
Conclusions:
Implementation of IT in healthcare of individuals with T2D should be based on comprehensive consideration of mental well-being, emotional distress, and readiness for health technology rather than sociodemographic and disease-related characteristics to identify the individuals in need for social support, self-management education, and extensive IT support. A one-size fits all approach to IT implementation in healthcare will potentially increase the risk of treatment failure among the most vulnerable individuals.
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