Motoliango Digital, A Counseling and Sexual Education App for Diabetes Mellitus Patients: A Pilot Study

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus can cause dangerous consequences, not only limited to high blood sugar levels but also complications caused by the disease. Of the many complaints of complications caused by diabetes mellitus so far, the most frequently treated are microvascular and macrovascular complications, while complications related to sexual activity, namely sexual dysfunction, are rarely asked. In a study, many men and women suffer from sexual dysfunction who report high levels of diabetes stress. Another study stated that female DM patients report depression due to sexual dysfunction. There are not many methods for solving sexual dysfunction problems in DM patients, counseling is one of the treatments that can be provided. Another crucial aspect of changing the behavior of DM patients is education. Health education significantly impacts knowledge about sexual dysfunction in people with diabetes mellitus. Considering that sexual issues are still taboo, this study will develop a model to enable patients to seek counseling and information from an app about sexuality in DM patients. Furthermore, the digital Motoliango platform allows partners of DM patients to obtain information and participate in counseling. This study was conducted at a public health center in Gorontalo Regency, Indonesia. The Digital Motoliango platform was developed in two stages. The first involved gathering information through a literature review, patient interviews, and focus group discussions (FGDs) with experts. The second stage tested the feasibility of the model. Ten T2DM patients participating in the study agreed with the quality of the digital Motoliango platform, which was tested using the System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire and obtained an average score of 75, indicating that the digital Motoliango platform is suitable for use as a sexual education tool for DM patients.