Evaluation of Accessibility and Use of New Communication Technologies in Patients With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

BACKGROUND: The role of patients in the management and control of type 1 diabetes mellitus, a chronic disease, is well established. The advent of new communication technologies is expected to improve patients' access to health information. However, little is known about the extent to which patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus use the Internet to retrieve medical information and about the impact, if any, this retrieval has on their health status. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the accessibility and use of new communication technologies in a population of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: Patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus attending the Diabetes Clinic of the Hospital de Sabadell, Sabadell, Spain, in a 6-month period were asked to answer a structured questionnaire about education level, Internet accessibility, use of health-related Web sites, and mobile-phone ownership and use. RESULTS: Of 302 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus attending the Diabetes Clinic on a regular basis, 244 (115 men, 129 women) were interviewed (response rate 80.8%). Personal computers were owned by 58.2% of patients. Fifty-nine percent had access to the Internet, 39.3% had access to the Internet at home; however, only 36.5% were regular Internet users. Internet users were younger, more frequently men, and of higher education level. Among Internet users only 49.4% had ever accessed a health-related Web site. Internet users who had ever accessed a health-related Web site had a higher level of education, presented severe hypoglycemia more frequently, and were more likely to have access to the Internet at home. No differences were found in metabolic control between Internet users and nonusers or between Internet users who had ever accessed a health-related Web site and Internet users who had never accessed a health-related Web site. Of the 76.6% of the patients that owned a mobile phone, 96% used it more than once a week. CONCLUSIONS: The impact of new communication technologies might be jeopardized by the low rate of access and utilization of the Internet for health-related purposes. Because of their high rate of ownership and use, mobile phones show promise as a tool in health care communication technologies.