Diabetes Mellitus m-Health Applications: A Systematic Review of Features and Fundamentals

Abstract

Background: The increasing number of diabetes mellitus (DM) m-health applications (apps) reveals a panorama of different approaches to the subject, demonstrating dynamism and heterogeneity. Available applications have various functions, capabilities, and data collection techniques.

Objective: We systematically reviewed the literature to identify and analyze studies regarding the diversity of applications aimed at DM monitoring and treatment. We aimed to investigate app functionalities, the basis for their design, and how they were tested.

Materials and methods: We conducted a systematic literature review in Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), ScienceDirect, Springer, and Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE) databases. The search considered studies published until April 2017, without language restrictions.

Results: After removal of duplicates, 679 studies were screened and assessed for eligibility, when 39 studies met the inclusion criteria. We present tables summarizing the functionalities, features, fundamental techniques, and methods.

Conclusions: There is a variety of approaches used in the DM apps, with comprehensive, customizable, and adjusted functionalities for different purposes. Most apps are digital logbooks for collecting data on various daily tasks from DM treatment. The researchers are interested in guidelines of medical organizations, evaluations from health professionals and patients, and other methods to verify accuracy and reliability.

Keywords: apps; diabetes mellitus; e-health; m-health; monitoring; telemedicine.