A mobile Diabetes educational system for fasting Type-2 diabetics in Saudi Arabia

The diagnosis and management of Diabetes is often a complicated process. The complications especially increases during the month of Ramadan wherein Muslim patients are obliged to observe fasting. Recent mobile health technologies are increasingly used in improving the self-management of chronic diseases such as diabetes and several studies have proven its efficiency. Further, research has shown that increased awareness of the disease helps the diabetics to effectively manage their disease and consequently reduce the complications arising due to diabetes. In this paper, an education program for fasting diabetes patients in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is presented. The education program makes use of an intelligent mobile diabetes management system named SAED, tailored for Type-2 diabetes patients in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to increase the awareness of the disease amongst the patients. The aim of the education program is to empower the diabetics with relevant knowledge about disease management during the fasting period in particular and improve their awareness about the disease in general. The proposed structure of the education program is presented in this paper which will be tested and evaluated extensively in a randomized controlled trial in Saudi Arabia.

I. Introduction

Globally, Diabetes Mellitus is one of the most common chronic diseases. It has been estimated that approximately 382.8 million people between the ages of 20 and 79 are suffering with this condition around the world. The worldwide costs for treatment of diabetes and its related complications in 2013 was estimated to be around $548 billion [1]. Specifically, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has the seventh highest prevalence of diabetes in the world with over one-fifth of its population suffering with the disease [2]. Clearly, Diabetes is a serious public health concern and hence requires significant attention for better diagnosis and management.