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International Scientific Indexing (ISI) Indexed Journal Applied Medical Research ISSN: 2149 - 2018
Applied Medical Research. 2023; 10(2):(148-176)


Effectiveness of Text Message-Based Intervention in Improving Glycemic Control among Patients with Diabetes Mellitus

Husain Taha, Amani Al Arayedh, Aysha Asif Sarwani*, Fatema Mandeel, Zainab Abdulraheem, Amal Ghareeb, Fatema Al Aradi and Zohour Rashwan

Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of text messages in improving glycemic control and HbA1C. Material and Methods: This retrospective experimental study recruited 101 patients, aged 14 years and older, diagnosed with diabetes and receiving treatment at selective clinics in Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) from July 1st, 2022, until December 5th, 2022. The Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test and Marginal Homogeneity Test were used to evaluate the effectiveness of text messages in improving glycemic control. Result: Our results showed 101 participants, 46.5% of whom were 41–65 years old and 52.5% of whom were female. 69.3% of the patients were not practicing exercises. 49.5% of the patients had hypertension, and 53.5% had hypercholesterolemia. Nearly equal percentages of the patients had either type I or type II DM (49.5% and 51.5%, respectively). 58.4% of them are receiving both insulin and oral diabetic medications. Regarding diabetes complications, 17.8% had retinopathy, followed by renal complications and peripheral neuropathy. 40.6% of the patients had hypoglycemic episodes in the last six months. 84.2% of the patients attended the text message-based intervention programme (TMBI) for one to two years. The majority of the patients reported that the programme enabled them to control their sugar levels (86.1%), reduce the frequency of visiting emergency departments and diabetes clinics (50.5%), and save time and effort (93.1%). In addition, we demonstrated a significant reduction in HbA1c levels from 73.4518.17 to 62.2215.98 mmol/mol. Conclusion: The findings indicate that those who were adhering and responding to the text messagebased intervention programme (TMBI) showed significant improvement in their glycemic control and, subsequently, their HbA1C.