Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of study participants
| Baseline characteristics | Waitlist (n=94) | Intervention (n=93) | Total (N=187) | P value | ||
| Demographic characteristics | ||||||
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Agea, (years), mean (SD) | 58.4 (10.5) | 55.4 (9.7) | 56.9 (10.2) | .04 | |
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Sex, n (%) | .12 | ||||
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Male | 60 (63.8) | 49 (52.7) | 109 (58.3) |
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Female | 34 (36.2) | 44 (47.3) | 78 (41.7) |
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Education, n (%) | .25 | ||||
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Secondary high school or lower | 29 (30.8) | 25 (26.9) | 54 (18.8) |
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Technical apprenticeship or diploma | 30 (31.9) | 27 (29.0) | 57 (30.5) |
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Bachelor’s degree | 23 (24.5) | 17 (18.3) | 40 (21.4) |
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Postgraduate degree or higher | 12 (12.8) | 24 (25.8) | 36 (19.3) |
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Employment, n (%) | .99 | ||||
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Full time | 43 (45.7) | 45 (48.4) | 88 (47.1) |
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Part time or casual | 16 (17.0) | 14 (15.1) | 30 (16.0) |
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Retired | 21 (22.3) | 21 (22.6) | 42 (22.5) |
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Unemployed or others | 14 (14.9) | 13 (14.0) | 27 (14.4) |
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English as a secondary language, n (%) | 11 (11.7) | 6 (6.5) | 17 (9.1) | .21 | |
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Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin, n (%) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (4.3) | 4 (2.1) | .08 | |
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General app use: frequent (multiple times per day), n (%)b | 67 (71.3) | 69 (74.2) | 136 (72.7) | .38 | |
| Psychosocial characteristics | ||||||
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Health-related quality of life: Assessment of Quality of Life-8 Dimensions score, mean (SD) | 0.7 (0.2) | 0.7 (0.2) | 0.7 (0.2) | .13 | |
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Depressive symptoms: HADS-Dc score, mean (SD)a | 4.7 (3.3) | 3.3 (3.4) | 4.0 (3.4) | .004 | |
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Cases (or likely cases) of depression, n (%) | 24 (25.5) | 12 (12.9) | 36 (19.3) | .03 |
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Anxiety symptoms: HADS-Ad score, mean (SD) | 5.6 (3.3) | 5.4 (3.8) | 5.5 (3.5) | .67 | |
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Cases (or likely cases) of anxiety, n (%) | 27 (28.7) | 28 (30.1) | 55 (29.4) | .84 |
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Diabetes-specific distress: PAIDe score, mean (SD) | 30.5 (19.9) | 29.2 (21.4) | 29.9 (20.6) | .67 | |
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Severe diabetes distress (PAID score >40), n (%) | 31 (33.0) | 29 (31.2) | 60 (32.1) | .79 |
| Diabetes-related/health behaviors | ||||||
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Years registered with NDSSf, n (%)b | .51 | ||||
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≤1 year | 34 (38.2) | 38 (42.7) | 72 (40.5) |
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1-5 years | 27 (30.3) | 23 (25.8) | 50 (28.1) |
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6-10 years | 28 (31.5) | 28 (31.5) | 56 (31.5) |
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Diabetes medications, n (%) | |||||
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Diabetes medication(s) prescribed | 83 (88.3) | 80 (86.0) | 163 (87.2) | .64 |
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Insulin prescribed | 16 (17.0) | 15 (16.1) | 31 (16.6) | .06 |
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Taking medicines daily as recommended | 71 (75.5) | 74 (79.6) | 145 (77.5) | .33 |
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Smoking, n (%) | 7 (7.5) | 4 (4.3) | 11 (5.9) | .16 | |
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Self-monitoring of blood glucose (>5 days in past 7 days), n (%)b | 49 (52.1) | 53 (57.0) | 102 (54.5) | .49 | |
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Daily foot checks, n (%) | 23 (24.5) | 21 (22.6) | 44 (23.5) | .87 | |
| Clinical characteristics | ||||||
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Weight (kg), mean (SD)b | 95.7 (19.0) | 97.1 (22.5) | 96.4 (20.8) | .65 | |
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Glycated hemoglobin (%), mean (SD) | 7.3(1.6) | 7.3(1.5) | 7.3 (1.5) | .86 | |
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Total cholesterol (mmol/L), mean (SD)b | 4.5 (1.3) | 4.6 (1.4) | 4.6 (1.3) | .54 | |
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Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg), mean (SD)b | 130.4 (13.6) | 131.1 (14.6) | 130.7 (14.1) | .72 | |
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Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg), mean (SD) | 78.5 (9.3) | 78.4 (9.4) | 78.5 (9.3) | .94 | |
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Triglyceride (mmol/L), mean (SD) | 2.0 (1.3) | 1.8 (0.8) | 1.9 (1.1) | .26 | |
| Diagnosed comorbiditiesb | ||||||
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High cholesterol, n (%) | 59 (62.8) | 64 (68.8) | 123 (65.8) | .37 | |
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Hypertension, n (%) | 52 (55.3) | 56 (60.2) | 108 (57.8) | .45 | |
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Arthritis (rheumatoid, osteoarthritis, or other), n (%)b | 34 (36.2) | 22 (23.7) | 56 (30.0) | .11 | |
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Depression/anxiety/nervous disorder, n (%) | 26 (27.7) | 26 (28.0) | 52 (27.8) | .60 | |
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Heart diseases, n (%) | 17 (18.1) | 17 (18.3) | 34 (18.2) | .60 | |
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Diabetes-related eye complications, n (%) | 12 (12.8) | 12 (12.9) | 24 (12.8) | .60 | |
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Lung diseases, n (%) | 11 (11.7) | 13 (14.0) | 24 (12.8) | .53 | |
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Diabetes-related neuropathy, n (%) | 11 (11.7) | 11 (11.8) | 22 (11.8) | .60 | |
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Stomach, duodenal, or gastro-intestinal ulcer, n (%) | 11 (11.7) | 10 (10.8) | 21 (11.2) | .59 | |
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Cancer, n (%) | 6 (6.4) | 8 (8.6) | 14 (7.5) | .50 | |
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Stroke, n (%) | 4 (4.3) | 10 (10.8) | 14 (7.5) | .14 | |
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Peripheral vascular diseases, n (%) | 8 (8.5) | 6 (6.5) | 14 (7.5) | .53 | |
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Kidney disease, n (%) | 5 (5.3) | 6 (6.5) | 11 (5.9) | .57 | |
| Health care service utilization | ||||||
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Had an appointment with a general practitioner or specialist in the past 12 months, n (%) | 93 (98.9) | 92 (98.9) | 185 (98.9) | .32 | |
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Had an appointment with any other health professional (eg, dietician) in the past 12 months, n (%) | 54 (57.4) | 63 (67.7) | 117 (62.6) | .12 | |
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Admitted to hospital in the past 6 months, n (%) | 21 (22.3) | 12 (12.9) | 33 (17.6) | .10 | |
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Used any other hospital service over the past 6 months that did not involve an admission, n (%) | 20 (21.3) | 21 (22.6) | 41 (21.9) | .80 | |
aSignificant difference observed between the intervention and control arms.
bSome missing values exist: general app use (n=4), years registered with NDSS (n=9), weight (n=8), systolic blood pressure (n=2), diastolic blood pressure (n=2), total cholesterol (n=11), triglyceride (n=13), medication adherence (n=24), self-monitoring of blood glucose (n=6), diagnosed comorbidities (n=1), and health care service utilization (n=1).
cHADS-D: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Depression score.
dHADS-A: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety score.
ePAID: Problem Areas in Diabetes scale.
fNDSS: National Diabetes Service Scheme.