Self-tracking As an Act of Self-Care and Its Implications for Patient-Agency: A Designer’s Point of View

The use of mobile applications (apps) to support self-management of diabetes in daily life has been widely adapted among Norwegian diabetics. Among other aspects, the increasing numbers of people with chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, an increased focus on self-care, and the proliferation of small and easy-to-use measuring devices, smartphone applications, and social networking platforms available to people have made self-tracking as in connection to self-management a focal point of diabetes research. Especially in the Norwegian context, where smartphones and internet access have become ubiquitous. It has become relatively easy today to produce and share personal health information, which only a few years ago seemed unimaginable.