Abstract:
Diabetes is one of the non-communicable diseases which is not given much attention. Yet diabetes is causing premature deaths causing economic effects worldwide. For it to be controlled and managed, diabetic patients need access to information and knowledge in a time, complete and quality manner. The traditional practice for delivering diabetes information in Tanzania is mainly through visits in the hospitals and health centers to meet the healthcare givers. Due to the limited number of healthcare workers, this study proposes an alternative way to improve healthcare giving services. This study presents a mobile phone system on short massages based aiming at disseminating educational information about diabetes to diabetic patients. This study was conducted at the diabetes mellitus clinic of Dodoma General Hospital. Data were collected from respondent through questionnaires and document review. The system follows the client server approach. It bases on GSM/SMS and Android technology so as to give a room for users to access the services regardless of the kind of mobile devices they use. Mobile phone SMS technology found to be a promising tool in the management of diabetes, but further research is needed because there is a scarce of reliable studies and systematic reviews. Healthcare workers are rapidly adopting mobile phone technology for use in clinical practice because they understand the usefulness and demand of mobile technology.
