Table 2.
Themes, Subthemes, and Categories
| Theme | Subtheme | Category |
|---|---|---|
| Information sources used by patients with diabetes | Physicians | − |
|
|
||
| Trusted people | Relatives | |
|
|
||
| Other patients with diabetes | ||
|
|
||
| Mass media | Internet | |
|
|
||
| Social networks | ||
|
|
||
| Television | ||
|
|
||
| Printed media | Newspapers, magazines, and educational brochures | |
|
|
||
| Books | ||
|
| ||
| Advantages of adopting health information technology in diabetes management | Economic benefits | Savings cost |
|
|
||
| Improving equity in the healthcare system | Increasing access to healthcare services | |
|
|
||
| Improving post-treatment follow-up | ||
|
|
||
| Introducing new treatment methods to patients | ||
|
|
||
| Responding to the patients' needs | Responding to the patients' questions | |
|
|
||
| Forming a patients group | ||
|
|
||
| Improving patients' health status | Reducing diabetes complications | |
|
|
||
| Improving self-management skills | ||
|
| ||
| Disadvantages of using health information technology in diabetes management | Financial issues | High costs of technology |
|
|
||
| Uncertainty about the reliability of information | Unreliable information | |
|
|
||
| Large volume of information | Patient confusion | |
|
| ||
| Motivational factors influencing the use of health information technology in diabetes management | Organizational factors | Government and health system support |
|
|
||
| Culture readiness for technology Training and introducing the technology prior to use it | ||
|
|
||
| Physicians' support | ||
|
|
||
| Economic factors | Providing free healthcare services to patients | |
|
|
||
| Technical factors | User-friendly technology | |
|
|
||
| Verification and validation of content and information by the specialists | ||
|
|
||
| Up-to-date information | ||
|
| ||
| Inhibitory factors influencing the use of health information technology in diabetes management | Organizational factors | Lack of government and health system support |
|
|
||
| Lack of user training | ||
|
|
||
| Lack of long-term plans | ||
|
|
||
| Economic factors | High cost of technology | |
|
|
||
| Users' financial status | ||
|
|
||
| Technical factors | Technical problems | |
|
|
||
| Inaccessibility of the internet and mobile phones | ||
|
|
||
| Lack of user-friendly technology | ||
|
|
||
| Individual factors | Old age | |
|
|
||
| Low level of education | ||
|
|
||
| Low level of income | ||
|
|
||
| Ethnic and cultural differences | ||
|
|
||
| Lack of health and computer literacy | ||
|
|
||
| Physical problems | ||
|
|
||
| Patient preferences | ||