CClinicalTrials.gg
Not yet recruitingNCT06176495Updated Jan 5, 2024

Empowering Patients With Diabetes and Their Family Members: Assessing the Impact of Free Informative Mobile Messages

An interventional study of Educational Text Messages in Diabetes Mellitus, sponsored by American University of Beirut Medical Center. Not yet recruiting. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 75 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-01-05.

Sponsored by American University of Beirut Medical Center · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was expected by Nov 2024, 1 year 11 months ago, but the record still lists the study as not yet recruiting.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
200
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 75 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This is a Randomized Control Trial aiming at investigating the feasibility and effectiveness of a WhatsApp-based informative intervention on Diabetes Mellitus care in Lebanon and exploring the impact of this intervention on various aspects of Diabetes management and patient outcomes.

Family member caregivers will be also included in this interventional study as the research investigators opt to evaluate their DM related knowledge, personal health practices, their involvement in the care of patients with diabetes, and their impact on the patients' diabetes control before and after the intervention.

Read the detailed description

Participants with diabetes will be equally and randomly divided into an intervention group (patients with diabetes and their designated family member) of individualized WhatsApp groups which will include each participant individually and the study coordinator to protect their privacy; regular, 4-5 diabetes educational messages a week for a total of 12 weeks will be sent by noon (around 12 pm) to the intervention group participants. The other group, control group, will receive no text messages throughout this period. After 3 months, participants of the intervention group (patients with diabetes and their family members) will be asked to fill in a postintervention knowledge and practices questionnaire to delineate any marked differences in the context of knowledge and health behaviors. All participants with diabetes of both groups will be asked to recheck the previously noted clinical and laboratory parameters at 12 weeks to evaluate for any changes particularly among the intervention group who will also be asked to fill out a postintervention survey. After 6 months, all patients with diabetes will be asked to recheck their clinical and laboratory values again and members of the intervention group will be asked to fill in the practices section questionnaire again.

This research will additionally include Family Members of patients with diabetes who are involved in their care (cooking, aiding in management, securing/delivering medications, etc.). Family Member Caregivers of participants will be designated/noted by the participants who have diabetes themselves, and they will be included in the study based on their willingness to take part of the study. They will also be sorted into either a control or an intervention group in accordance with which group their relative with diabetes was sorted into, for example, if the patient with diabetes will be designated to be a part of the intervention group, this means that the family member caregiver participant will also be allocated to the intervention group. Our aim is to evaluate their DM related knowledge, personal health practices, their involvement in the care of patients with diabetes, and their impact on the patients' diabetes control before and after the intervention.

One point to note as well is that to ensure equality among groups and for the benefit of the control group participants, the research investigators will be sharing with them the content of the text messages originally shared with the participants of the intervention group by the End of the study.

02

Conditions studied

  • Diabetes Mellitus

Browse trials for

Keywords

  • Diabetes Mellitus
  • Family Member Caregivers
  • Education
  • Educational text messages
  • WhatsApp
03

In context

Diabetes Mellitus

10,926 studies on the registry are indexed under Diabetes Mellitus; 1,319 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 200 is above the median of 80 across 8,368 interventional studies indexed under Diabetes Mellitus.

Browse Diabetes Mellitus studies →

Lead sponsor

American University of Beirut Medical Center is the lead sponsor of 152 studies on the registry; 27 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 75 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria for Participants with Diabetes:

  • Adult patients 18 years or older
  • Patients with an established DM diagnosis
  • Patients with a recent HbA1c level with no recent changes in treatment regimen
  • Recent HbA1c > 7 but less than 9
  • Patients who are on oral antidiabetic medications or basal insulin (intermediate, long acting, ultra long acting insulin)
  • Patients who are adherents to the American University of Beirut Health Insurance Plan (AUB-HIP)
  • Patients who have visited the Family Medicine Primary Care Clinics at American University of Beirut Clinics in the past 12 months.
  • Patients with smart mobile phones and/or access to WhatsApp services
  • Patients who can speak and read Arabic or English or live with someone who can read for them
  • Patients with available family members involved in their care (e.g. cooking, aiding in management, securing/delivering medications, having the patient medically insured, etc.).
  • Willingness to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria for participants with Diabetes:

  • Young patients below 18 years
  • Patients who are on non basal insulin/bolus therapy
  • Adults with cognitive impairment
  • Adults with functional dependence and no assisting family member or caregiver
  • Pregnant and Postpartum patients
  • Patients with terminal or critical diseases (e.g., cancer; advanced heart, lung, liver, and kidney disease; Human immunodeficiency virus infection and Acquired immune deficiency syndrome and etc.)
  • Patients with severe hearing or visual impairment
  • Patients who can't read or have difficulty reading and do not live with someone who can read for them
  • Patients who will have any of their medications modified throughout the study process will be excluded from the study as well
  • Patients with a positive depression (PHQ 2) and/or anxiety (GAD 2) screening results who will be asked to follow up with their primary physician

Inclusion Criteria for Family Member Caregivers:

  • Age 18 years or older
  • Designated or selected by the participating patient with diabetes.
  • Not diagnosed with DM
  • Can read and write
  • No visual or hearing impairments
  • Involved in the participant's diabetes or general care and has an influence on the participant's lifestyle behaviors or medical insurance (e.g. cooking, aiding in management, securing/delivering medications, having the patient medically insured, etc.).
  • Access to the WhatsApp service
  • Willingness to participate in the study
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
200 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • No intervention
    Control Group

    Patients with Diabetes and Family Member Caregivers who will receive no text messages over the designated period of the designated

  • Other
    Intervention Group

    Patients with Diabetes and Family Member Caregivers who will receive Educational Text Messages via WhatsApp over the designated period of the intervention

    Diagnostic Test: Educational Text Messages

Interventions

  • Diagnostic testEducational Text Messages

    The educational content will be targeted about Diabetes Education and will be guideline based with what complies to the standards of care instituted by the American Diabetes Association. They text messages will comprise content related to general diabetes knowledge, diabetes management and control, coping with diabetes, and guidance on adopting a healthy lifestyle.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Percentage change in glycemic control determined by HbA1C (in percent) in participants with diabetes pre and post intervention.

    To determine the effectiveness of diabetes tailored text messages on glycemic control in patients with diabetes mellitus, Percentage change in glycemic control determined by HbA1C (in percent) in participants with diabetes pre and post intervention will be assessed.

    Time frame: at 3 and 6 months interval

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in knowledge before and after the intervention (in percentage)

    Assessment of the change in percentage of knowledge in both the patients' and family members' that will be assessed based on the questionnaire that is to be filled before and after the intervention. Chi-squared test will be utilised with a p-value of ≤ 0.05 being considered as statistically significant.

    Time frame: at 3 and 6 months interval

  2. Changes in Daily Health Practices pre and post intervention (in percentage)

    the participants daily health practices will be assessed using a designed questionnaire. the changes in health practices will be assessed pre and post intervention using delta percentage. Chi-squared test will be utilised with a p-value of ≤ 0.05 being considered as statistically significant.

    Time frame: at 3 and 6 months interval

  3. Percentage change in weight (in Kg), height (in meters) and BMI (Kg/m2) pre and post intervention

    Percentage change in weight (in kg), height ( in meters) and BMI (in Kg/m2) pre and post intervention in participants with diabetes

    Time frame: At 3 and 6 months interval

  4. Percentage change in fasting sugar (mg/dl) pre and post intervention among participants with diabetes

    Percentage change in fasting sugar (mg/dl) pre and post intervention among participants with diabetes

    Time frame: At 3 and 6 months interval

  5. Percentage change in lipid profile composed of Total Cholesterol, LDL, HDL and Triglycerides ( all in mg/dl) among participants with diabetes pre and post intervention

    Percentage change in lipid profile composed of Total Cholesterol, LDL, HDL and Triglycerides ( all in mg/dl) among participants with diabetes pre and post intervention

    Time frame: At 3 and 6 months interval

  6. Percentage change in systolic and diastolic blood pressure (in mmHg) in participants with diabetes pre and post intervention

    Percentage change in systolic and diastolic blood pressure (in mmHg) in participants with diabetes pre and post intervention

    Time frame: At 3 and 6 months interval

  7. Assessment of Changes in Depression Screening score (in percentage pre and post intervention)

    Changes in patients' depression screening score pre and post intervention using the PHQ 2 scaled score. This will be reflected in percentage (pre and post intervention) to reflect the changes in the participants' mood. Chi-squared test will be utilised with a p-value of ≤ 0.05 being considered as statistically significant. For the PHQ-2, the score ranges from 0-6. A score of 3 is considered as the optimal cut point when using the PHQ-2 to screen for depression. If the score is 3 or greater, major depressive disorder is likely.

    Time frame: At 3 and 6 months interval

  8. Assessment of Changes in Anxiety Screening score (in percentage pre and post intervention)

    Changes in patients' anxiety screening score pre and post intervention using the GAD 2 scaled score. This will be reflected in percentage (pre and post intervention) to reflect the changes in the participants' mood. Chi-squared test will be utilised with a p-value of ≤ 0.05 being considered as statistically significant. For the GAD-2, the score ranges from 0-6. A score of 3 is considered as the optimal cut point when using the GAD-2 to screen for generalised anxiety. If the score is 3 or greater, generalised anxiety is likely.

    Time frame: At 3 and 6 months interval

07

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

08

References and documents

Publications

  • Al-Mutawaa KA, Farghaly AH, Nasir R, Loares AM, Skaroni I, Al-Thani M, Abou-Samra AB. Level of knowledge, attitude and practice towards diabetes among nationals and long-term residents of Qatar: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open. 2022 Feb 16;12(2):e052607. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052607. PubMed 35172997 ↗
  • Abaza H, Marschollek M. SMS education for the promotion of diabetes self-management in low & middle income countries: a pilot randomized controlled trial in Egypt. BMC Public Health. 2017 Dec 19;17(1):962. doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-4973-5. PubMed 29258499 ↗
  • Ernawati U, Wihastuti TA, Utami YW. Effectiveness of diabetes self-management education (DSME) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients: Systematic literature review. J Public Health Res. 2021 Apr 14;10(2):2240. doi: 10.4081/jphr.2021.2240. PubMed 33855427 ↗
  • Karaoui LR, Deeb ME, Nasser L, Hallit S. Knowledge and practice of patients with diabetes mellitus in Lebanon: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. 2018 Apr 20;18(1):525. doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-5416-7. PubMed 29678148 ↗
  • Sahin C, Courtney KL, Naylor PJ, E Rhodes R. Tailored mobile text messaging interventions targeting type 2 diabetes self-management: A systematic review and a meta-analysis. Digit Health. 2019 Apr 22;5:2055207619845279. doi: 10.1177/2055207619845279. eCollection 2019 Jan-Dec. PubMed 31041110 ↗
  • Bin Abbas B, Al Fares A, Jabbari M, El Dali A, Al Orifi F. Effect of mobile phone short text messages on glycemic control in type 2 diabetes. Int J Endocrinol Metab. 2015 Jan 1;13(1):e18791. doi: 10.5812/ijem.18791. eCollection 2015 Jan. PubMed 25745493 ↗
  • Omar MA, Hasan S, Palaian S, Mahameed S. The impact of a self-management educational program coordinated through WhatsApp on diabetes control. Pharm Pract (Granada). 2020 Apr-Jun;18(2):1841. doi: 10.18549/PharmPract.2020.2.1841. Epub 2020 May 3. PubMed 32477434 ↗

Related links

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jan 5, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06176495
Lead sponsor
American University of Beirut Medical Center
Responsible party
Najla El Lakkis (Specialist in Family Medicine; Specialist in Occupational Medicine; Clinical Associate in Family Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center) — Principal investigator
First posted
Dec 19, 2023
Start date
Jan 2024 (estimated)
Primary completion
Nov 2024 (estimated)
Completion
Nov 2024 (estimated)
Last update
Jan 5, 2024

Study contacts

Najla El Lakkis, FAM MED
Contact
ne23@aub.edu.lb
01-350000 ext. 3020
Farah Farhat, MD
Contact
ff38@aub.ed.lb
01-350000 ext. 3020
Najla El Lakkis, FAM MED
principal investigator · American University of Beirut Medical Center

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Dec 2023. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion