Usability of an mHealth application in India for type 2 diabetes mellitus

Objective: Mobile health (mHealth) technologies are a rapidly evolving field in India and are increasingly being used to address noncommunicable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, few studies have addressed user perceptions of T2DM mHealth applications (apps) in India. The purpose of this study was to determine the usability and compare results of an mHealth app designed to improve T2DM health literacy among specific populations in India. Design: Comparative survey design. Setting: Bengaluru, India. Method: A descriptive comparative design was used. The mHealth App Usability Questionnaire (MAUQ) was used to research the usability of the T2DM mHealth app. Participants (N = 95) were recruited via email and WhatsApp. They were first asked to use the mHealth app and then complete a usability questionnaire. Results: Participants in the study were mainly single (86.3%), women (95.8%), aged 18-28 years (89.5%), with some college education (63.8%), unemployed (90.5%), living in an urban area (76.8%) and not previously diagnosed with T2DM (93.6%). Mean responses (1 = disagree; 7 = agree) ranged from 5.89 (SD, 1.48) to 6.22 (SD, 1.42) favouring the app's usability. Users recommended incorporating more knowledge and information into the app as an idea for improvement. Results showed that there was no significant difference in scores by age, gender, marital status, employment or previous diagnosis rates and responses to the questions. Conclusion: As a result of these findings, we can use the same interface and layout as that used on the mHealth app with more confidence when creating other health education apps. The data revealed areas for improvement in future apps, such as adding more information, additional questions and more language options. Informed by these findings, we may create health literacy apps that are better suited for the user with greater ease of use.