Journal of Global Public Health and Healthcare Innovation

(Annual (One issue per year))

ABSTRACT

Diabetes mellitus is a growing public health concern in low-income and low-resource countries. Mobile health interventions, as a tool to facilitate chronic disease self-management, offer a potential solution to the barriers for diabetes self-management such as lack of healthcare workers, poor access to care, long distances to healthcare facilities, and out-of-pocket expenses for monitoring and follow-ups. This article aimed to review the published literature on the effects of mobile health (mHealth) interventions on diabetes self-management in low-income countries. A systematic search of PubMed, ScienceDirect, Springer Nature, and PLOS journal articles was conducted using keywords to identify the impact of mHealth on diabetes self-management. Ten studies, published within the last decade, were included in the review following title and abstract screening and full-text assessment against predefined eligibility criteria. The included studies were published as trials, interventions or a systematic review of the impact of mHealth on diabetes self-management in low-income countries. Across the reviewed studies, mHealth interventions demonstrated inconsistent but generally positive effects on diabetes self-management outcomes. While some studies failed to show clinically significant improvements in glycaemic control, positive trends were reported for medication adherence, knowledge, and dietary/lifestyle changes. Across SMS text messaging, interactive voice response, and application trials, high levels of acceptability and feasibility were reported despite short follow-up durations. mHealth interventions were feasible, acceptable, and moderately effective in supporting diabetes self-management with inconsistent effects on glycemic control in low-income countries. There is a need for larger-scale studies with prolonged follow-up periods to explore the long-term effectiveness of selected interventions.

Keywords: Mobile Health; Diabetes Self-Management; Low-Income Countries; Mhealth; Glycaemic Control