Mobile Application for Promoting Gluten-Free Diet Self-Management in Adolescents with Celiac Disease: Proof-of-Concept Study

Abstract

Celiac disease (CD) is a chronic disease treated by maintaining and managing a lifelong restrictive gluten-free diet. The purpose of this study was to develop a mobile application, Plan My C-Day, to promote self-management skills among youth with CD during adolescence—a time when decreased adherence often occurs—and examine its usability among adolescents with CD. Plan My C-Day contains three simulations of activities involving eating out and actions to take when preparing for these events. It was developed and pilot tested by 13 adolescents with CD. Application use and user perception data were collected and analyzed. Participants chose 160 actions within the simulations. For over 75% of participants, the time to complete the simulation decreased from the first to the third (last) simulation by an average of 50%. The average reported usability perception was 3.71 on a scale of 1 to 5, with system ease of use and ease of learning obtaining the highest scores. This study demonstrated that the Plan My C-Day mobile application’s self-management content, features, and functions operated well and that the simulations were easy to understand and complete. Further development will include the option to add self-created activities and adaptation to different languages and cultures.

Promotion of Self-Management of Chronic Disease in Children and Teenagers: Scoping Review

“…Knowledge from the disciplines of nursing, medicine, psychology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, nutrition, social work, and education can be integrated, using cognitive and/or behavioral strategies [ 27 , 33 , 37 ] as a basis for support to self-management of chronic illness in the child/teenager.…”

“…Self-management programs attempt to provide chronically ill patients with the knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy needed to take an active role in managing their health condition [ 29 , 33 ].…”

“…In recent years, technology-based interventions to improve self-management have been shown to be useful in promoting self-management of chronic illness [ 9 , 29 , 30 , 33 , 44 ].…”

“…One study using a Plan My C-Day mobile app specifically designed to promote cognitive self-management skills among adolescents with celiac disease had promising results. It demonstrated that content, resources and functions were operative in the process of self-management of the disease [ 33 ].…”

“…The basic skills of self-management include self-monitoring, medication compliance, environmental control, relaxation, and problem solving. Meyer et al [ 33 ] 2021 Mobile Application to Promote Gluten Free Diet Self-Management in Adolescents with Celiac Disease-Proof of Concept Study 1 e 2 Eating difficulties “Self-management is the interaction of health behaviors and processes related to the tasks throughout life in which people engage to take care of themselves and live well with a chronic condition. It consists of a set of, making plans, being flexible, and solving problems to support learning, remembering, planning, and deciding” (World Health Organization, 2001) - Adherence to changes in your lifestyle - skills, such as making decisions and maintaining daily needs …”