Background: The global prevalence of diabetes is increasing particularly in low and middle income countries like Nepal with the number expected to rise in the near future. Advances in technology have led to greater use of mobile health (mhealth) for managing chronic diseases. mhealth offers a cost-effective way to improve health outcomes with evidence supporting feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness in resource-limited settings like Nepal. However, while mhealth has shown promising results in promoting positive health behaviour and improving service utilization for chronic conditions, its potential for self-management of type 2 diabetes in Nepal is yet to be evaluated. This study thus aims to determine the effectiveness and acceptability of a text based mhealth intervention that improve self-management in people with Type 2 Diabetes in Nepal. Methods: This study is a 6 month, open-label, two-armed parallel group randomized control trial among 154 participants with type 2 diabetes. Participants will be randomly assigned to either intervention or control group on a 1:1 basis. The intervention group will receive a text based mhealth intervention (text messages) in addition to standard care while the control group will receive only standard care. Baseline data will be collected using a structured questionnaire. Follow up will be done 6 months after the intervention. The primary outcome of the study will be a difference in mean in the HbA1c level from baseline to follow up. The secondary outcomes include changes in diabetes self-care activities, self-efficacy, social-support, diabetes related stress, quality of life and acceptability of the intervention. An economic evaluation will be conducted using a patient perspective. Data will be analyzed using Stata version 13.0.
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Change in HbA1c level
Timeframe: six months