Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a chronic condition that can lead to many life-threatening diseases. Prediabetes is defined as a state in which blood glucose levels are elevated but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. This stage can be reversible with appropriate lifestyle and dietary modifications. Existing solutions are mostly developed to deal with T2D instead of preventing it in the first place. In this study, we propose a framework to aid in the development of self-care systems to prevent T2D, which integrates behavioral change theories and techniques and offers features, such as goal setting, activity planning, and health monitoring. We then assessed the feasibility of a prediabetes self-care system designed based on the proposed framework. Quantitative and qualitative methods were adopted in evaluating i-PreventDiabetes, a prototype. Numerous aspects of the prototype were evaluated, including (1) its effectiveness in assisting individuals with prediabetes in improving their health management behaviors, (2) its effect on users’ attitudes toward diabetes prevention, (3) users’ motivation levels, (4) user acceptability of the system, and (5) user experience. Users viewed i-PreventDiabetes positively and experienced a positive change in their attitude toward their health. Diabetes prevention systems, such as i-PreventDiabetes, have the potential to increase self-care behaviors among individuals with prediabetes, enabling them to manage their lifestyle and nutrition more effectively to avert a variety of potentially fatal conditions.

Smartphones have become essentials in our life in this era, especially in the life of university students. It has become a one-stop-centre for many things. Students set schedules and meetings on their phone, set up online meetings via skype, make conference video calls to communicate with their friends and family, review their course notes on the phone as well as participate in online classes with a smartphone. The usage of smartphones has become endless. Together with that, addiction towards smartphones has become inevitable. Smartphone addiction has caused many issues, such as emotional distress, neck pain and sleep disorder. In this paper, we report the results of a quantitative study that was conducted to evaluate smartphone addiction disorder among 135 university students. A survey consisting of the 26 items of Smartphone Addiction Inventory (SPAI) was administered to determine the impact of smartphone usage on university students and to study the factors related to the addiction. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was carried out to study the underlying connection within the 26 items and the students. Results indicate that smartphone addiction among the university students is in the average, as the total SPAI score for 73 participants focuses in the middle range. The EFA outcome suggested a two-factor solution: Dependency and Well-beingness. The results of our study indicate that students' wellbeing is getting affected by the usage of smartphones.

Objective: To explore the users’ insights that contributes to behaviour change in prediabetics and the user requirements for a self-care application from the prediabetics’ perspective. Methods/Statistical Analysis: We conducted Focus Group Discussions (FGD) on four distinct groups of diabetics and prediabetics at a Diabetes Resource Centre and among the public through advertisement. Open-ended questions were asked to stimulate the discussions. Transcripts of each discussion session were read several times, coded, categorised and analysed thoroughly by identifying the themes. The facial expressions during the discussion were also observed and taken into consideration. Findings: Results indicated that diabetes can be prevented through proper lifestyle changes, if and only if the person is willing to change his/her behaviour. The idea of a self-care application was well accepted by the participants and the components to be included were identified. The identified components are such as self-monitoring, diet, exercise, activity planning, goal setting, forum, social support and reminders. As for diabetics, taking medication has second highest priority where else it holds lesser priority among prediabetics. About 20% of the participants showed less interest in a self-care application either because they are not technology savvy or because of their advanced age status. Application/Improvements: A framework for designing prediabetes self-care application will be formulated, which integrates behavioural change theories.

Increasing demand for digital technology, worldwide, has unlocked new pathways for diabetes prevention. Health behavioural change theories when integrated in the design of novel health applications can foster effective self-health management and prevention. We developed i-PreventDiabetes, a self-care application for prediabetics, that enables lifestyle monitoring, goal setting and activity planning, which is accessible via both web and mobile. In this study, we evaluated the usability barriers and enablers, and assessed the user experience with the system by using a multi-method approach with 20 participants. This approach includes cognitive walkthrough, think-aloud method, question-asking protocol, System Usability Scale (SUS), User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ), and open-ended questions. The results indicate that the users are satisfied with the concept of preventing diabetes by using a self-care application that includes a variety of functionalities that empowers prediabetics to take charge of their own lifestyle in preventing diabetes.

Preventing diabetes at the prediabetes stage is a crucial step to take as the damages done by diabetes is non-reversible. In the recent years, the number of diabetics has been increasing tremendously, which is predominantly due to unhealthy lifestyle and diet. To prevent diabetes, human behaviour needs to be altered: a new positive habit should replace an old habit. Self-care applications have great potential in fostering diabetes prevention. However, existing solutions mostly do not follow clinical guidelines, do not incorporate user expectations, are aimed to deliver a specific functionality (such as weight management), are not designed based on behavioural change theories, and therefore they are not designed for long term use. Integrating health behavioural change theories and the prediabetics' requirements into the development of self-care applications can empower consumers to better care of their own health. In this paper, we propose a prediabetes self-care application design framework, which incorporates behavioural change theories, and meets requirements of prediabetics. The framework was validated by a pool of health-related experts from various fields. Results indicate that the framework comprised necessary functions that would enable prediabetes to prevent diabetes. The framework would aid developers to design novel prediabetes applications that would enable users to take greater responsibility towards their health, which in return helps to save medical cost.