Development of a Smartphone Type 2 Diabetes Self-Management App in the South Asian Community

South Asian people are three times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than the average Canadian. Connecting South Asians to culturally-relevant and translated resources is crucial to reducing this prevalence. Spreading diabetes awareness and support in the South Asian community was mainly done in-person but was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. To address this roadblock in promoting diabetes awareness and support in this community, Self-Management BC developed AyogoT2D – a type 2 diabetes self-management app for the South Asian community to allow better access to diabetes care and resources at their fingertips.

Learning Objectives:

• Review the rationale for developing a Punjabi Type 2 Diabetes Self-Management App
• Describe steps in the development process
• Describe promotional activities used to disseminate the App
• Summarize the lessons learned in this project
• Provide opportunities for app use and dissemination

Speaker Bios

Patrick McGowan, PhD

Patrick McGowan is a professor with the School of Public Health and Social Policy at the University of Victoria. His research career over the last 30 years has focused on aspects of health education for persons experiencing chronic health conditions. He has been implementing and researching the effectiveness of self-management interventions for chronic health conditions. This research is being conducted at the community, provincial, national and international levels.

Dr. McGowan participates on provincial, federal and international committees. He is based in Delta, BC, where he directs the Institute on Aging & Lifelong Health Ladner Office.

Website: www.selfmanagementbc.ca