An Analysis of Diabetes Mobile Applications Features Compared to AADE7™: Addressing Self-Management Behaviors in People With Diabetes:

Background:Diabetes self-management (DSM) applications (apps) have been designed to improve knowledge of diabetes and self-management behaviors. However, few studies have systematically examined if diabetes apps followed the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) Self-Care Behaviors™ guidelines. The purpose of this study was to compare the features of current DSM apps to the AADE7™ guidelines.Methods:In two major app stores (iTunes and Google Play), we used three search terms “diabetes,” “blood sugar,” and “glucose” to capture a wide range of diabetes apps. Apps were excluded based on five exclusion criteria. A multidisciplinary team analyzed and classified the features of each app based on the AADE7™. We conducted interviews with six diabetes physicians and educators for their opinions on the distribution of the features of DSM apps.Results:Out of 1050 apps retrieved, 173 apps were identified as eligible during November 2015 and 137 apps during December 2017. We found an unbalanced DSM app dev...