Development and Testing of a Mobile Health Application for Management of Gestational Diabetes
Diabetes, Gestational, Telemedicine
About this trial
This is an interventional supportive care trial for Diabetes, Gestational
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- receive antenatal care at Dhulikhel Hospital
- receive a GDM diagnosis based on Carpenter-Coustan criteria or fail the Glucose Challenge Test only
- less than 30 gestational weeks into pregnancy
- own a smartphone
- have internet connectivity at home
- can understand and read Nepali
Exclusion Criteria:
• Patients with learning difficulties or vision/hearing impairments
Sites / Locations
- Dhulikhel Hospital, Kathmandu University HospitalRecruiting
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
No Intervention
Experimental
Standard Care + Telemonitoring: Control
Standard Care + mGDM app + Telemonitoring
Standard care for GDM will be modifying diet& exercise and/or medication use. Participants will have consultations with a dietitian and a physical therapist to develop a diet and physical activity plan based on pre-pregnancy weight and disease severity. In addition to verbal information about managing GDM with diet and physical activity, patients will be provided with leaflets and brochures. As per the standard care protocol, GDM patients will be asked to visit the OPD for glucose testing every two weeks, and after each testing, blood glucose levels will be recorded in paper booklets assigned to each patient. In addition, the women will be provided with a glucometer and a blood pressure monitor machine. Participants will be taught to use these devices for self-monitoring and will be provided guidelines to follow at home. The OB/GYN physicians will monitor the blood glucose levels across testing, and will prescribe oral hypoglycemic medications or insulin to the patient if needed.
In addition to standard care and telemonitoring, this group will use the mGDM app. This group will be provided with the same devices as the control group and in addition, the GDM app will be set up in their cellular device. The app will be on their smart phone and will support self-management by: i) providing health education, ii) helping patients identify and set target health goals (for diet, physical activity, and glucose levels), iii) enhancing their self-efficacy to meet target goals, and iv) facilitating desired support from family members. The core component of the mGDM app will be to allow GDM patients to record and self-monitor their carbohydrate intake, physical activity and blood glucose levels. Patients will be able to manually enter their weekly blood glucose levels and blood pressure readings on to the app