Subject recruitment: The person-in-charge/managers of the departments of the hospitals/the health service centers will go through the in-house medical documents to identify adults with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and hypertension and invite them to attend an information session, in which the project's lead PI (Dr. Calvin Or) and research assistants will introduce the study; determine their eligibility based on their self-reported demographic data, health information, and/or medical records; and collect their contact information. Later, the research assistant will telephone the eligible patients to schedule a first visit to their homes for enrollment.
Intervention: The participants randomized to the intervention group will be given a tablet-based, interactive touch-screen self-monitoring system free of charge to perform disease self-monitoring in their homes. The objectives of the system are to empower patients' ability to self-monitor and improve their self-care adherence and medication compliance by enabling access to various e-support, information, resources, and self-monitoring tools in a timely manner. It runs on a 10-inch touch-screen tablet computer that is programmed to connect to a 2-in-1 blood pressure and glucose monitor. Measurement modules are available for assessing and recording blood pressure, pulse, and blood glucose level. The assessment records are fully automated and can be retrieved and reviewed in structured tables and charts. Patients can determine whether assessment values that deviate from the critical levels may need attention based on the "normal value ranges" indicated by the system. The system also has a module that provides both text- and video-based learning resources related to the causes and prevention of type 2 diabetes and hypertension, self-care, salt and sodium intake, diet, action plan (e.g., appropriate actions in response to symptoms), exercise, and stress management. The care information and video capability allow patients to easily learn how to self-monitor and self-manage. In addition, the system has a reminder function that can be programmed to emit audible reminders at predetermined times alerting patients to take their prescribed medications. A secured web portal (http://selfcare.imse.hku.hk/) is available for authorized, non-patient users such as caregivers and families to remotely review and monitor the assessment values of key patient health signs using their own mobile devices or computers.
Randomization: Participants will be stratified into four groups based on the HbA1c and systolic blood pressure measurements: (i) HbA1c ≤ 8% and systolic BP ≤ 159 mm Hg, (ii) HbA1c ≤ 8% and systolic BP ≥ 160 mm Hg, (iii) HbA1c \> 8% and systolic BP ≤ 159 mm Hg, and (iv) HbA1c \> 8% and systolic BP ≥ 160 mm Hg. These cut-offs for grouping were set based on previous studies (2, 3) and clinical judgement. Within each stratum, the patients will be block-randomized into the study groups using randomly permuted blocks and sequentially numbered, opaque, sealed envelopes. The randomization and allocation process will be based on the practical guide for permuted blocks randomization in a stratified trial, as described in Doig and Simpson (4), and handled centrally by a researcher in response to a telephone call.
