Market analysis of mobile apps for diabetes prevention and management

Advancement in technology has offered new opportunities in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes. In tandem with the innovation of new digital technologies in this field, venture capital companies have been investing in companies that offer mobile applications for behavioural interventions to prevent and manage type 2 diabetes.

external pageIn a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Researchcall_made, Future Health Technologies (FHT) researchers including Roman Keller, Aishah Alattas, Asst Prof. Lorainne Tudor Car, Prof. Falk Müller-​Riemenschneider, Prof. Florian von Wangenheim, Dr Jacqueline Mair and Prof. Tobias Kowatsch, together with co-authors, sought to better understand commercially available mobile apps for type 2 diabetes management and prevention. They identified companies with the highest amount of funding and reviewed the level of scientific evidence available for the solutions they offer. In addition, the authors examined if these digital interventions employ novel technology-driven developments such as chatbots or just-in-time adaptive interventions.

The results indicate that the level of funding received by those companies does not coincide with the level of scientific evidence on the effectiveness of the solutions offered by them. In fact, the scientific evidence of the digital interventions varies considerably, and the researchers emphasize the need for more rigorous effectiveness trials and transparent reporting by quality assurance authorities. Moreover, as very few digital interventions integrate automated approaches such as chatbots and just-in-time adaptive interventions, the scalability and reach of these solutions are limited.

The researchers at the FHT programme at the Singapore-ETH Centre are part of the Mobile Health Intervention research module, which employs digital technologies to promote behavioural change in reducing chronic-disease risk in the general population, and in managing chronic diseases and preventing escalation of disease in patients.