PATIENTS' AND PHYSICIANS' PERSPECTIVES ABOUT USING HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN DIABETES MANAGEMENT IN IRAN: A QUALITATIVE STUDY.

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is known as a major chronic disease that has a number of consequences affecting individuals' health conditions and socioeconomic aspects of life. These challenges require innovative interventions, such as self-management to improve patients' health condition and reduce the economic burden of healthcare systems. The current research aimed to identify patients' and physicians' perspectives about the use of health information technology in diabetes management in Iran.

Methods: This was a qualitative study conducted in 2019. In order to collect data, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight patients and 10 specialists in an endocrine and metabolism research center and in a teaching hospital. The interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Finally, data were analyzed by using framework analysis method and MAXQDA version 10.

Results: According to the results, both patients and physicians believed that while using health information technology can improve access to healthcare services, the high cost of technology may hinder its usage. Factors such as government and health system support can motivate users to use the technology, and factors such as lack of user training and technical problems may have a negative impact on technology usage.

Conclusion: As a number of motivational and inhibitory factors may influence the use of health information technology in diabetes management, it is imperative to take each of these factors into account before designing and implementing new technologies, especially for diabetes management.