Acceptability of Mobile App-Based Motivational Interviewing and Preferences for App Features to Support Self-Management in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: Qualitative Study

Background: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) experience multiple barriers to improving self-management. Evidence suggests that motivational interviewing (MI), a patient-centered communication method, can address patient barriers and promote healthy behavior. Despite the value of MI, existing MI studies predominantly used face-to-face or phone-based interventions. With the growing adoption of smartphones, automated MI techniques powered by artificial intelligence on mobile devices may offer effective motivational support to patients with T2DM.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the perspectives of patients with T2DM on the acceptability of app-based MI in routine health care and collect their feedback on specific MI module features to inform our future intervention.

Methods: We conducted semistructured interviews with patients with T2DM, recruited from public primary care clinics. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was conducted using NVivo.

Results: In total, 33 patients with T2DM participated in the study. Participants saw MI as a mental reminder to increase motivation and a complementary care model conducive to self-reflection and behavior change. Yet, there was a sense of reluctance, mainly stemming from potential compromise of autonomy in self-care by the introduction of MI. Some participants felt confident in their ability to manage conditions independently, while others reported already making changes and preferred self-management at their own pace. Compared with in-person MI, app-based MI was viewed as offering a more relaxed atmosphere for open sharing without being judged by health care providers. However, participants questioned the lack of human touch, which could potentially undermine a patient-provider therapeutic relationship. To sustain motivation, participants suggested more features of an ongoing supportive nature such as the visualization of milestones, gamified challenges and incremental rewards according to achievements, tailored multimedia resources based on goals, and conversational tools that are interactive and empathic.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest the need for a hybrid model of intervention involving both app-based automated MI and human coaching. Patient feedback on specific app features will be incorporated into the module development and tested in a randomized controlled trial.