JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Self-management plays a vital role in Non-communicable Disease prevention and control. However, it has been challenging for patients and their caregivers to identify how much their lifestyle affects their health and what level of effort they should make to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks in everyday life. Therefore, knowing their own CVD risks and daily health-related situations will provide relevant information for self-management by those at risk. The need to help individuals understand their relevant information creates an opportunity to investigate if and how to implement a combined digital and nurse-led self-management intervention in a real-world community setting.

Objective:

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a combined approach involving digital device support, including a smartwatch, a mobile application, and a salt meter, coupled with nurse-led case management, on self-management behaviors and clinical outcomes.

Methods:

This study uses a combination of a nurse-led self-management with digital and mobile health innovative approach, including tailored small group face-to-face education sessions, a smartwatch, a smartphone health application, and salt meter, to increase the self-management behaviors to reduce vascular risk through designing and testing an integrated community-based strategy targeted at adults and elderly at risk of cardiovascular in Thailand. The study employs a single-arm pretest-posttest intervention design to assess the effects of the intervention. The intervention will consist of the following components: (1) an interactive face-to-face education session, (2) a real-time knowing your numbers strategy using a smartwatch, a smartphone health application, and a salt meter, (3) a mindfullness-based stress management strategy using SKT Meditation healing exercise: and (4) a self-management diary. Quantitative data will be collected using a smartwatch, smartphone, food diary, and questionnaires at baseline and the post-trial assessment.

Results:

This study, funded in January 2025, will involve 45 patients. We received ethical approval on May 31, 2024, and began recruitment for participation in May 2023. Researchers will collect, analyze, and synthesize to evaluate the study procedure. We expected to complete data collection by September 2025, with the first results submitted for publication in December 2025.

Conclusions:

The implementation of a combined Digital Device and Nurse-Led Case Management may identify the use of digital health to support self-management and improve vascular health. The implementation of a combined digital device and nurse-led case management may identify the use of digital health to support self-management and improve vascular health. Clinical Trial: Universal Trial Number (UTN): U1111-1323-8550. Thai Clinical Trial Registry TCTR20250701003; https://www.thaiclinicaltrials.org/show/TCTR20250701003.