Digital Assistants for Diabetes Treatment: Designing a User Interface to Support Chronic Disease Self-Management

Chronic diseases such as diabetes are among the most frequent causes of death, and thus, pose a major challenge for the healthcare sector. Information systems provide opportunities for minimizing risk behavior of patients and guiding healthcare specialists. However, existing applications do not provide the emotional and cognitive relief that patients desire. In this context, the application of digital assistants is said to improve the self-management of patients and cooperation with medical specialists. Following a design science research approach (DSR), we identify (1) meta-requirements, (2) design principles, and (3) capabilities to inform the design of a digital assistant user interface. Empirically, our DSR approach is supported by three rounds of interviews with medical specialists and diabetes patients. This paper adds value to the literature by providing prescriptive knowledge aiding as a blueprint for designing digital assistant user interfaces in chronic disease management. Medical practitioners can benefit from this work, as it demonstrates how different design principles for digital assistant user interfaces may help chronic disease patients develop health literacy and highlights the challenges and implications of implementing digital assistants in this context.