Patients’ Evaluations of Mobile Text Messaging Studies for Type 2 Diabetes Management: A Systematic Review and a Meta-Synthesis

A systematic review and a thematic synthesis were performed to identify, assess, and summarize available qualitative evidence on text messaging studies focused on type 2 diabetes self-management. Patients’ experiences and perspectives on text messaging interventions/programs were investigated. A comprehensive search strategy included major electronic databases, key journal searches, and hand searches of the reference lists of related systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The Cochrane Qualitative and Implementation Methods Group and the PRISMA guidelines were followed for data extraction, quality appraisal, data analysis, and report. A thematic synthesis approach was used to integrate the findings of the included studies. The Grade CERQual tool was utilized to assess the confidence in the findings. The search returned 14 eligible studies for the systematic review and 13 studies for the thematic synthesis. Text messaging interventions/programs increased patients’ self-awareness, knowledge, and control of diabetes. Preferred message timing and frequency varied among patients indicating the need for customized message delivery. Text messaging was perceived as a suitable technology for type 2 diabetes self-management. Patients highly valued the tailored content in text messages and felt “supported” during the interventions/programs. Future research needs to explore which tailoring strategies and message design features could be more useful for patients. Moreover, it is necessary to conduct an in-depth investigation of the effects of different patient characteristics on their adoption and use of text messaging. This study provides significant implications to healthcare professionals, organizations, and researchers to effectively design and deliver text messages to support type 2 diabetes self-management.