BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a significant global public health issue. An unhealthy lifestyle can lead to this condition, but with the right education, we can prevent it. This study aimed to compare the effects of healthy lifestyle behaviors, education delivered through peer groups, and mHealth application on the self-efficacy of patients with diabetes mellitus.

METHODS

This randomized clinical trial was carried out in 2022. Using purposive sampling, 135 patients with diabetes mellitus from two hospitals in Kermanshah, Iran, were recruited and assigned into three groups: peer education, virtual education through the mHealth application, and control. Peers with diabetes, whom the researcher trained, taught the patients of the peer education group four 35-min sessions in 2 days. With an application created for diabetes patients, the researchers taught the patients in the mHealth group in three 1-h sessions over 3 days. The individual characteristics and self-efficacy questionnaires were used to gather data.

RESULTS

The mean self-efficacy score did not significantly differ between the three groups before the training ( = 0.10). However, a significant difference was observed after the training ( < 0.001). The mean self-efficacy score of patients in the peer education group (100.36 ± 15.9 vs. 106.87 ± 9.08,  = 0.01) and the mHealth group (100.80 ± 24.72 vs. 116.91 ± 10.67,  = 0.02) had a significant increase after training, while there was no significant difference in the control group (106.87 ± 9.08 vs. 105.60 ± 10.84,  = 0.13). The mHealth application was more effective than peer group training on the self-efficacy of patients with diabetes ( < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The self-efficacy of patients with diabetes mellitus can be increased by healthy lifestyle training through peer education and mHealth application. However, the mHealth application was more effective compared to peer group education. Future studies should examine how education applications affect patients with other chronic diseases' sense of self-efficacy.