JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Type 1 diabetes is a constraining disease due to the burden of its management. Diabetes outcome is determined by the effectiveness of diabetes self-care. Digital health technology, which includes continuous glucose monitoring, insulin delivery devices, and related mobile health applications, can support diabetes self-care and thereby improve diabetes outcome. In literature, experiences with the use of digital health technology vary widely among people with diabetes and is a less studied area among adults with type 1 diabetes.

Objective:

The aim was to explore experiences of using digital health technology for diabetes self-care among adults with type 1 diabetes.

Methods:

A qualitative design with an inductive approach was used. Adults with type 1 diabetes who are users of digital health technology were included in the study. Participants were recruited primarily via digital advertisements through social media. Convenient sampling method was used. Data was collected through open-ended questions in a web-based survey (autumn 2022) and two digital group interviews (autumn 2024). Data from a total of 161 participants, using one or more form of DHTs were included in the study. Data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

Results:

The participants experienced using digital health technologies in diabetes self-care as a balancing act between feeling empowered and feeling exasperated. This is described under five categories; promoting autonomy in daily life, self-awareness through collaborative learning, feeling secure, tackling technical challenges and need for support, and navigating the burden of psychosocial challenges.

Conclusions:

This study sheds light on both positive and negative experiences of using digital health technologies for diabetes self-care in a real life setting. The exasperating experiences may widen the digital health inequities and therefore are important to address. Further studies are needed to validate our findings.