LIVINGLIVING
SCREEN TIME
Part two: meters and apps that help you see your data better
V
isualising your diabetes
data can really help you to
gain insights to intervene
and gain greater control
of your diabetes. This
issue we look at blood test meters and
associated apps, which are getting
smarter and easier to use all the time.
Company: Ascensia Diabetes
Product: Contour Diabetes App
Screen: Meter or smart phone
The latest version of the Contour Diabetes
App released December 2017 includes
IMB (informational motivational behavior).
This is easy-to-engage with data that
can drive behavioural changes. If you are
regularly blood testing then the app can
pick up on trends, notify the user and
even make suggestions as to actions to
take. It can be powerful if user likes it and
uses it.
Most people with diabetes only rarely
see a consultant or diabetes specialist.
Apps such as these can lead to far
greater engagement with the ability to set
reminders to test, and so on.
The informational motivational
behavior (IMB) is based on work by
psychologist Dr Bill Fisher, a Canadian
pioneer in behavioural science. It's based
on three factors:
1. Actionable information
2. Motivation
3. Behavioural skills (to do diabetes selfmanagement)
The app is designed to support
these three elements. Actionable
information shows patterns and insights
and guidance. This should lead to the
motivation to strive to achieve the best
health results possible.
The app was also designed around
users' needs, putting the customer first.
An improvement on the first version
and incorporating feedback from the first
version, it now includes more reports
on the data inputted to the app (carb
estimates, insulin doses, exercise as well
as blood test results). Now onboard are
test reminder plans, as well as alerts, such
as Critical High, and Critical Low. Available
on both Apple and Android devices, such
on-phone apps are private, you can set
notifications to fit in with your own lifestyle.
They can ping, or be silent if you prefer,
with or a vibrate alert. The fact that it's on
your phone makes it easy to use, the data
is simple to see; it's all just very handy.
Says Chester Lu, Brand Leader for
Contour Diabetes app, "The idea with the
My Patterns feature is to prompt users to
be mindful and support them when they
are not with their healthcare professional
by giving helpful guidance to improve their
diabetes management. After identifying a
pattern in your readings and the possible
cause, it can suggest ways that you move
on to the next step - such as put in a
follow-up, 'take a walk', or 'do another
test in 30 minutes'. The ongoing nature of
these interactions can lead to behaviour
changes and health improvements. The
vision is that people can work with the app
to get health benefits. It's not intrusive,
it's always running in the background.
People are known to sometimes 'fall
off the wagon' when it comes to doing