Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) may be prevented by promoting weight loss through adopting healthier behaviours (e.g., improved diet and increased physical activity). In 2016, the National Health Service (NHS) in England introduced a 9-month face-to-face T2DM prevention intervention, delivered by four independent providers. Since 2019, the NHS Digital Diabetes Prevention Programme (NHS-DDPP) was offered to increase accessibility of the programme. This research aimed to understand how service users engaged with, and experienced using the NHS-DDPP.
DESIGN: Qualitative interviews.
METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with service users (n = 45) who took part in one of the four NHS-DDPP providers' programmes and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were thematically analysed using a framework approach.
RESULTS: Two overarching themes were produced: 'Personalized Guidance' and 'Path to Success'. Service users valued having health coach support, which provided personalized guidance throughout the programme, alongside access to different app features to suit their needs (e.g., educational content, tracking health behaviours, group support). Service users described self-monitoring, feedback from their health coach and support from their social circle as helpful towards changing their health behaviours. This enabled them to visualize their progress and provided accountability.
CONCLUSION: Service users emphasized how human contact alongside this digital behaviour change programme improved their experiences and engagement with the programme. Digital health interventions could consider how to better incorporate support from health coaches, friends and family to help users in making behavioural changes. Future digital health interventions should consider how best to harness non-digital elements to promote behaviour change.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | e12787 |
| Journal | British Journal of Health Psychology |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 19 Feb 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 28 Feb 2025 |
Data Availability Statement
Transcripts of interviews analysed in the current study are not publicly available due to confidentiality agreements with the provider organizations, as some information is commercially sensitive. Some datasets are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request, although authors will require the explicit permission of the relevant provider organizations.Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge and give thanks to participants who willingly participated in the interview study and thus contributed to data collection. We would also like to thank NHS-DDPP providers who helped with participant recruitment for this interview study.Funding
This research is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (The Health and Social Care Delivery Research (HSDR) Programme, 16/48/07 – The Evaluating the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme [NHS-DPP]: the DIPLOMA research programme [Diabetes Prevention: Long-Term Multimethod Assessment]).
Keywords
- Humans
- Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/prevention & control
- Female
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Qualitative Research
- Adult
- England
- State Medicine
- Aged
- Health Promotion/methods
- Health Behavior
- Interviews as Topic
