Introduction to DiabeTEXTs

Project Overview:

Living with diabetes makes great educational demands on a family – for children, parental support and involvement play a central role in management of the disease. However, this also creates special challenges relating to independence and opposition when children move into adolescence. Information and communication technology could provide the means for greater flexibility and independence. Diabetic patients also have to be active participants in their treatment, because they are inevitably responsible for their day to day care.

As the availability of mobile access advances rapidly, mobile phones are now widely available at a low cost. The potential in using mobile phones for supporting and educating diabetes patients is increasingly being recognized. However, this proposed service has not yet been explored in a Canadian First Nations community context, especially when First Nations people in Canada experience a disproportionate burden of type 2 diabetes mellitus. With the establishment of Keewaytinook Mobile (KM) and Dryden Mobility (DMTS), local cellular and data services are becoming readily available to more First Nations communities across Northern Ontario. This provides a great opportunity to see if utilizing cell phones to provide educational information for First Nations diabetes patients and their caregivers can be an effective and long-term health care support strategy.