Use of smartphone applications for diabetes management in Kuwait: a pilot study

A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Dasman Diabetes Institute (Kuwait) to investigate the attitudes to smartphone diabetes-related applications used by diabetic patients. In total, 111 patients aged 59.0 ± 9.0 years completed the questionnaires. Most of the respondents were Kuwaiti (83%), with type 2 diabetes (79%) and had had diabetes for more than five years (93%). Although most respondents owned a smartphone (94%), only 12% were using diabetes-related applications. Barriers included unawareness, language, losing interest, lack of time and complicated use. Medical appointment reminder was an important desired feature. Designing apps in the Arabic-language with easy to use features is recommended.