RT - Journal Article T1 - Impact of Distance Education via short message service of Mobile Phone on metabolic control of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Karaj-Iran. JF - QHMS YR - 2014 JO - QHMS VO - 19 IS - 4 UR - http://imtj.gmu.ac.ir/article-1-1800-en.html SP - 224 EP - 234 K1 - Distance Education K1 - Text Messaging K1 - Control Metabolic K1 - Diabetes Mellitus/Type 2 AB - Aims: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has a strong potentiality in the field of medicine for the improvement of life style. Mobile phone technology, as an integral element of ICT, and because of the wireless system wide spread usage, and ubiquitous availability, can facilitate long distance delivery of medical recommendations. The effectiveness of short message service (SMS) usage in the education of patients has been demonstrated by numerous studies. Yet, adequate attention has not been paid to the use of this widely available and inexpensive tool in Iran. Hence, this study is aimed at evaluating the impacts of using SMS on improving metabolic control of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) in Iran. Methods: This study was a randomized controlled trial. A total of 81 type 2 diabetes patients were randomly assigned into two groups of experimental (n=43) and control (n=38). Educational SMS was sent to the mobile phones of experimental group only. The data were collected through a demographic, physiologic and metabolic characteristics list. The data were collected at the baseline of the study and after 3 months of intervention and were analyzed by SPSS-17 software using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The results of this study showed that the experimental group, compared with the control group, improved significantly in HbA1C (p=0.024), LDL (p=0.019), cholesterol (p=0.002), BUN (p≤0.001). Conclusion: The findings showed that intervention using SMS via mobile phone was effective in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Thus, further studies are recommended for a wide usage of distance education with mobile phone. LA eng UL http://imtj.gmu.ac.ir/article-1-1800-en.html M3 ER -