François Modave, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Health Outcomes & Policy, and Michelle Cardel, Ph.D., R.D., assistant professor in the Department of Health Outcomes & Policy, received a UF CTSI Translational Pilot Program award to create and test DiaFit, a bilingual English-Spanish mobile app that collects and analyzes multi-source data to better assist patients with Type II diabetes and obesity understand and manage their chronic conditions.
“The number of people with chronic conditions related to obesity and Type II diabetes continues to climb and mobile apps hold so much potential to help patients manage their chronic disorders,” said Cardel. “We are so grateful for this pilot funding, which allows our research team to pursue the first step in creating an app that is informed by stakeholder feedback and that works seamlessly in clinic workflow.”
The award will help the researchers create the first evidence-based app that incorporates recommendations for both nutrition and fitness as well as patient-reported outcomes and prompts for patients who are obese or have diabetes. The app will help users record their eating habits, medication use, glucose level, physical activity and patient-reported outcomes related to well-being. In addition, the app will allow for clinicians to monitor the progress of their patients and provide feedback in real time. Finally, the app will incorporate educational and motivational messages to help patients build confidence and skills in diabetes and weight management.
“Our goal is to create a user-friendly app that is also evidence-based, which is something that is practically non-existent in health-related apps at the moment,” said Modave, who specializes in mHealth. “In addition, our app incorporates clinicians, adding value to the app for patients and equipping health care providers with another avenue for assisting and empowering their patients.”
The team’s ultimate goal is continue to refine this app through an R34 or other similar funding mechanism. To learn more about the UF CTSI Pilot Project Awards, click here.