Diabetic Patients' Perspective About New Technologies Used in Managing Diabetes Mellitus in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background:  Diabetes technologies are hardware, devices, and software that are used by people with diabetes to manage their condition, from lifestyle interventions to the monitoring of blood glucose levels. The development of these technologies is advancing, but their use in Saudi Arabia is under-researched.

Objectives:  To appraise the awareness of using new technological options in managing patients with diabetes and to assess the patients' satisfaction while using them.

Method:  This was an e-questionnaire-based cross-sectional study. The targeted population of the study was patients with diabetes in Saudi Arabia. A total of 452 respondents participated in a survey in the period between 2020 and 2021. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods and Chi-squared tests.

Results:  Some 69% of participants were aware of the new technologies used in managing diabetes. There were discrepancies between the awareness and the use of new technologies. Several causes of non-use were identified; the main cause was high cost, as reported by more than half of non-users (53.2%). Other causes included non-availability and difficulty of use. Mobile health applications had the highest use rate (13.5%) among new technologies; patients reported using them mostly for blood glucose monitoring, physical activity, and nutritional programs. Patients' satisfaction was higher for modern technologies than for conventional methods.

Conclusion:  The results indicate that awareness of the new technologies used in managing diabetes was higher than their use. Moreover, the use of modern technologies improved the satisfaction of patients.