Due to the adoption of sedentary lifestyles and high fat diet, the number of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) cases are increasing at an alarming rate globally, and has become a public health burden. According to the World Health Organisation, about 422 million people worldwide have diabetes, and about 1.5 million deaths are directly attributed to diabetes each year.
T2DM is characterized by resistance to insulin or lack of insulin production. The body cannot adequately regulate glucose in the blood, leading to long-term elevated blood sugar levels. Over time, this can cause major complications to the eyes, kidneys, blood vessels, and heart.
The key to T2DM treatment is self-management. With an active lifestyle and a balanced diet, T2DM can be prevented. However, patients are not taught adequately on how to develop healthy dietary habits due to a shortage of healthcare staff and brief consultations with their dieticians.
This research project targets a cohort of new T2DM patients. They will be given a questionnaire and divided into 2 groups. One group would meet the dietician and be given a leaflet to study themselves. Another group would meet the dietician and then our robot, DAVE (Droid Audio Visual Educator), which provides patients advice on nutrition and hypoglycaemia to help them understand the role of their diet and self-management in T2DM. After that, both groups will be given the questionnaire again, aiming to find out which group did better to see if the use of technology can improve the efficacy of educational intervention.
