Diabetes is rising globally, with 422 million adults’ worldwide currently living with the condition, equating to 1 in 11 individuals. In Switzerland, diabetes is likewise becoming more prevalent, with 7.4% of the adult population (469 400 adults) diagnosed. Shadowed amongst these figures is the growing burden on healthcare systems facing increasing pressures to maintain or improve health outcomes whilst coping with additional patient numbers. Failure to effectively self-manage type-2 diabetes can lead to a variety of life-changing complications such as cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, vision loss, neuropathy and amputation amongst others.

Thusly, tools to enable effective self-care and health literacy are vital. This project, which is funded by the Schwyzer Foundation, introduces digital coaching through a text-based healthcare chatbot embedded in a smartphone application as a strategy to meet the healthcare challenges in type-2 diabetes care for Switzerland, with implications for the wider world.

We will keep you updated on the project progress via the following project page: Adaptive Digital Assistants for Type-2 Diabetes Patients