Smartphone applications in the prevention of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: a protocol for a systematic review

Diabetes mellitus is a leading cause of concern among non-communicable diseases worldwide, with its prevalence increasing every day. Studies have shown that it is possible to prevent type 2 diabetes in high risk people if they adopt a healthy lifestyle, such as exercising regularly, eating nutritious food and maintaining an ideal weight. Mobile apps may aid these people in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Till date, no systematic review has evaluated the use of mobile health applications for the prevention of type 2 diabetes. In this systematic review protocol we will lay out the methods we will use to synthesise the evidence about mobile health applications for the prevention of type 2 diabetes, focusing particularly on their impact on different process and outcome measures, as well as on patient perspectives. Database searches will be done in PubMed, Embase, CINAHL and PsychInfo. Screening of the articles will be conducted by two independent researchers. The Cochrane risk of bias tool will be used for quality assessment. A narrative synthesis of the included articles will be done and the results summarised. The findings of this review will provide evidence on the impact of mobile applications in preventing Type 2 diabetes mellitus.