Home reminder stickers and app quizzes built stronger self-care habits in adults with diabetes
Who it’s about: Adults, People with a health condition
- HelpedHabits
With home reminders and app quizzes, self-care felt more automatic after 12 weeks than with plain app lessons.
- Rule: Put a visible cue where you'll do ittested
- Rule: Get feedback on your progresstested
- Action: Learn how the problem worksused
- Action: Take your medicationused
- Rule: Through an appused
Randomised trial of 293 adults with type 2 diabetes in China · vs plain app lessons on diabetes · they rated themselves
- HelpedGoals
With home reminders and app quizzes, people did their self-care on more days than with plain app lessons.
- Rule: Put a visible cue where you'll do ittested
- Rule: Get feedback on your progresstested
- Action: Learn how the problem worksused
- Action: Take your medicationused
- Rule: Through an appused
Randomised trial of 293 adults with type 2 diabetes in China · vs plain app lessons on diabetes · they rated themselves
The study
Who took part
293 adults aged 18 to 65 with type 2 diabetes from hospitals in Hainan Province, China. They were about 49 on average, and about two in three were men.
What they did
Both groups did four weekly app lessons on diabetes. One group also got quiz questions with quick feedback, and kept reminders at home for 12 weeks. These were stickers by their pills, a traffic-light plate and a '6000 steps' mat by the door.
What happened
After 12 weeks, the group with home reminders said their self-care felt more automatic. They also said they did their self-care tasks on more days each week. Some of the paper's numbers and dates don't match, and people knew which group they were in.
Source
Digital Structured Education With Behavioral Nudge Tools for Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial (2026)
DOI: 10.2196/91407 (opens in a new tab)Tools in this study
Rule · where5
Put a visible cue where you'll do itA sticker, poster, object or wearable prompt at the point of action.
Action4
Learn how the problem worksPsychoeducation about procrastination, habits, sleep, routines or ADHD.
