Diabetes Education Presented on Monday, June 24, 2013 12:00 PM

Author(s):  MARCIAA. TESTA, DONALD C. SIMONSON, Boston, MA. Internet and social media tools to access and disseminate health information have increased dramatically; however, there are limited data on their use in persons with diabetes. To help design internet-based technologies to monitor diabetes patients and enhance health messaging, we analyzed two (2008 & 2010) Pew Research Center cross-sectional telephone surveys. Logistic regression was used to assess the impact of clinical diagnoses, demographic and socioeconomic factors on internet usage. A total of 5,254 individuals participated [age 50±19 yrs, 44% male, 50% married, 42% HS grad or lower, 73% Caucasian, 41% full-time employed, 25% retired, median income $35,000]. 678 individuals (13%) reported having diabetes with comorbidities of hypertension in 67%, heart disease (24%), and pulmonary disease (20%). Internet usage was reported by 73% of those with no diabetes and 47% with diabetes (p < 0.001). After adjustment [(Odds Ratio) age in yrs (OR = 0.94), male gender (0.64), income / $10,000 (1.55), some college (3.4), Hispanic (0.47), and white race (1.72), all p < 0.0001], diabetes (OR = 0.82) was no longer a predictor of internet usage (p = 0.12). Both crude and adjusted health-related internet use were comparable between diabetes and no diabetes for seeking information on medical problems (OR = 1.06), treatments (0.88) and health care providers (1.07), all p > 0.4. For all respondents mean ± SD internet/email use from home [rated 1 (never) – 7 (several times/day)] was 5.4±0.03, but 0.3 units lower in persons with diabetes (p = 0.007). Internet/email usage from home was more frequent than at work (5.4 vs. 3.8, p < 0.001). Effect modification analysis indicated that higher socioeconomic and education status increased internet use more for those with diabetes. Thus, age, education, income, race and ethnicity were important mediators of internet use among patients with diabetes. These factors need to be considered when implementing internet-based diabetes management and education programs.

Disclosure:   M.A. Testa:Consultant; Author; Eli Lilly and Company, Sanofi. D.C. Simonson: None. To view this Abstract and e-Poster, click on the hyperlink and then the View e-Poster Icon    View e-Poster -Click Here  To open View e-Poster it is best to use Chrome or Mozilla. If your browser opens automatically in Windows Explorer copy and direct link below in Chrome or Mozilla browser: https://ada.scientificposters.com/index.cfm?k=mkqmh1dgwv