Web-based intervention improving quality of life among patients with type 2 diabetes in southern Karnataka, India

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a long-term medical condition with a high morbidity rate and numerous complications. Diabetes can impair a person’s quality of life (QoL) by having an adverse effect on their physical, psychological, social, and environmental health. This study attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of a web-based model in improving the health-related QoL among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Southern Karnataka. Methodology: A longitudinal study was conducted among 545 T2DM patients attending the outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital in Mysore in southern India. Diabetes Care (https://www.diabetes-care.co.in/), an online website that can predict the risk for uncontrolled diabetes and recommends lifestyle changes, was used by the patients. The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was used to assess the QoL at the start of the study and 3 months later. Results: Comparing the QoL of the study participants before and after the intervention period, all four domains of QoL, i.e., the physical domain (53.10 ± 23.140–57.36 ± 17.276), the psychological domain (53.37 ± 23.200–61.32 ± 14.154), the social relationship domain (52.77 ± 25.116–58.22 ± 18.695), and the environmental domain (54.97 ± 24.665–60.12 ± 19.725) scores, improved, and this was found to be statistically significant. Conclusion: The web-based model significantly improved the QoL in all four domains of health. Thus, more technological approaches should be implemented along with other public health measures to improve the health outcomes of patients with T2DM.