Over the Summer months, this blog will be highlighting some of the recent research undertaken by graduates from our Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program.
First up, we will look Jill Jolin’s work on using the MyFitnessPal mobile app to increase exercise amongst patients with diabetes.
“Increasing Exercises for Patients with Diabetes Using a Mobile App – A Quality Improvement Project” – Jill Jolin
Research indicates that a combination of aerobic and resistance exercise leads to overall beneficial physical and psychological health benefits for people that have a diagnosis of diabetes.
In addition, behavior change and social support have been identified as essential factors that facilitate and help maintain a productive and committed exercise program for people with diabetes. Patient self-management is an important indicator in maintaining good control of diabetes, and mobile phone interventions have been shown to improve such self-management. Although exercise is an important component of treatment and prevention of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, people struggle with incorporating exercise into their daily lives and have difficulty maintaining exercise once they initiate an exercise goal.
This quality improvement project provides an educational tool for diabetes educators on the benefits of the MyFitnessPal app for people that have diabetes. Additionally, it teaches educators how to download and utilize the app so that they can teach their patients how to track and log food intake and improve patient self-management. Patient weight, glycohemoglobin, and self-rated activity levels were also analyzed.
This study found that exercise is an important tool for patients with diabetes to lower glycohemoglobin levels and weight, and that the MyFitnessPal app is a useful tool for patients to utilize in order to meet these goals.
The MyFitnessPal app is a FREE downloadable app for keeping track of both food and activity. It features
- easy carbohydrate, fat, protein, sugar, and calorie counting
- Over 6,000,000 foods available by search or using package barcode scanner
- a database of over 350 cardio and strength training exercises
To install this app on your iPhone or Apple device, go to the “App Store” and search for MyFitnessPal
To download to an Android device, go to your “Google Play” Store and search for MyFitnessPal