A Phenomenological Exploration of Mobile Health Application Use among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes in Indonesia
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Abstract
Mobile health (mHealth) applications are increasingly used in chronic disease management to support patient autonomy and self-monitoring. While their clinical benefits are well documented, less is known about how patients emotionally and culturally engage with these technologies in daily life. This study explores the experiences of ten adult patients with type 2 diabetes in Indonesia using a descriptive phenomenological approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and thematically analyzed to identify essential meanings across participants' narratives. Four themes emerged: enhanced self-control, emotional burden, digital adaptation challenges, and shifts in patient-provider relationships. Patients described mHealth applications as influential elements that shaped emotions, behaviors, and self-perception. These findings suggest that the effectiveness of digital health interventions depends not only on their technical design but also on how users integrate them into their sociocultural context. This study underscores the need for human-centered and culturally responsive digital health solutions.
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