This project has been shortlisted for the DPH 2025 Innovation Prize – Best Partnership
Team: Martin Chi-Sang Wong, Jason Junjie Huang, Claire Zhong, Ellen Tong, Ngai-Tseung Cheung, Clement Cheung and Wing Nam Wong (Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hospital Authority)
Outline: Worldwide, diabetes is a common chronic disease and affects more than 10% of the general population. If poorly controlled, the condition can lead to serious complications and even deaths.
Our research team works in partnership with the Hong Kong Government in an innovative project to optimize diabetes control for our patients attending clinic visits. We conducted a study to evaluate the effectiveness of the eHealth App, an electronic mobile health application, on self-management from patients with diabetes. Results showed the app’s Health Management Module generated satisfactory outcomes in blood sugar control among patients with diabetes, especially young female users. Findings have been published in npj Digital Medicine, a medical publication under Nature.
The government launched eHealth App in 2021 as a free, user-centric public health hub with one-stop access to health information. It added a Health Management Module in July of the same year, where users could record and manage blood pressure, blood sugar and heart rate for themselves and their families. Doctors and nurses can provide more holistic care for these patients after assessing this real-time health information. Previous literature has suggested that mobile applications positively impact diabetes self-management. Our team and the Government rolled out a study to examine how effectively the eHealth app could do so. The Health Management module facilitates diabetes management, but more solid evidence is required.
Hence, our team collected and analysed data from 109,823 patients with diabetes between January 2021 and May 2022 to assess the association between its use and optimal HbA1c level (<7%). The factors included demographics, lifestyle habits, HbA1c level and use of the eHealth app and its Health Management module. 31,723 study participants were eHealth app users, 1,744 people used both the app and its Health Management module, and the remaining 76,356 patients were not eHealth app users. Results showed eHealth app use could lead to more optimal HbA1c levels, and patients who used the Health Management module had the best blood sugar control. The tendency of patients who could attain the optimal HbA1c level is 40% higher in the Health Management module group than among non-eHealth app users. That figure jumped to 60% among young female Health Management module users. The research team also observed low use of the eHealth app among older people, with only 24% of patients aged >60 or above using it (c.f. 43% among those aged <60). We have also been exploring ways to help them overcome the technical barriers in using the eHealth app, and encourage their family members to use eHealth to help manage their health.
This study validated the potential of the eHealth app and its health management functions for diabetes patients. Another advantage of eHealth is that it enables medical staff in public and private hospitals to monitor patients’ blood sugar records in real time with the patient’s consent, helping to provide more timely diagnosis and treatment. The findings highlighted the ability of this novel digital application to reduce complications, lower hospital admission rates, and reduce deaths.
