UMass Dartmouth professor developing app aimed at Portuguese … – Fall River Herald News

DARTMOUTH – Portuguese type 2 diabetes patients living in the United States will soon be able to use a new smartphone app especially designed to help them self-manage their health and receive better care, thanks to a UMass Dartmouth Nursing professor.
Dr. Peeranuch “Pim” LeSeure is currently developing the prototype of Dia Friend – a free, simple-to-use, user-centered application to monitor glucose levels, exercise, medication and carbohydrate intake and offer nutrition and other pertinent advice, taking into consideration staples of the Portuguese-American culture.
“I thought it would be interesting to help this group of people have better health, self-care and quality of life,” said Dr. LeSeure, who is originally from Thailand and moved here in the beginning of 2020.
Having a special interest in chronic illness, health promotion and prevention and mobile technology applications in healthcare, Dr. LeSeure said she chose the Portuguese because they make up a large demographic in the SouthCoast region and they are not only susceptible to developing diabetes due to their lifestyle, eating habits and genetics, but many times are underprivileged with access to health services and medical care.
“There are studies on other ethnic groups who live in the U.S., such as African-American and Hispanic, but I don’t see studies specific to Portuguese who live in America,” she told O Jornal. “There are a lot of studies on Portuguese people who live in Portugal.”
Often referred to as the silent killer because people often have no symptoms at first, type 2 diabetes is a lifelong disease in which there is a high level of glucose (sugar) in the blood. If left untreated, it can lead to serious health problems, including cardiovascular disease, blindness, kidney failure, loss of limbs and fatal coma. But with proper self-management and good education, diabetics can live long, healthy lives.
“This research will help a lot of Portuguese people with diabetes to receive better care and control diabetes,” Dr. LeSeure said.
Although the app is geared towards the Portuguese, Dr. LeSeure noted that it could also be used by other individuals, offering a non-profit service for the good of a community, particularly the underserved population of the SouthCoast. Type 1 diabetes patients can also take advantage of this app to track their exercise, food and medication intake and monitor blood sugar levels as well as have access to helpful healthy information.
Dia Friend will initially be available for Android devices only, but it will be modified and made available to iPhone users at a later date. Although it will be first launched in English, the plan is to eventually make it available in both languages.
According to Dr. LeSeure, the app is being developed in three phases.
As part of phase one, she recently recruited Portuguese people with diabetes aged 25 years and older to participate in a study and get their opinion about using cell phone applications for people with diabetes. Participants received a $30 gift card for their time (about 45 to 60 minutes).
“Within two days, unbelievably, I had people send me their interest in participating in the research, and we reached the number we wanted,” Dr. LeSeure said. “We have worked on Phase 1 (interviewing people to collect data) and Phase 2 (developing the app) at the same time.”
Based on the data collected, the app will now be modified to meet the users’ needs.
“We have to create an application that is easy for people to use. I want something simple and direct,” she said. “The app development phase will be finished around April. Then, I will move to the third phase, testing the app. When that time comes, I will need a lot more people to test the app. I will need 20 people to interview and 100 to answer the questionnaire.”
The application prototype is being funded by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences Pilgrim Fund Seed Grants.
“I am a principal investigator, responsible for most parts of the research, but we have a team who share thoughts and assist with some parts,” Dr. LeSeure said.
Project collaborators include Dr. Elizabeth Chin and Dr. Mary Beth Sosa, of UMass Dartmouth’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences, and Dr. Shelley Zhang, of the Computer and Information Science Department.
UMass Dartmouth Computer and Information Science graduate students are helping in the development of the prototype, which is being designed in such a way that it can be used as a building block for many other applications across domains.
A doctorate degree holder from the Sinclair School of Nursing at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Dr. LeSeure previously conducted diabetes research in Thailand, where she was a Nursing faculty member for more than two decades.
“The ultimate goal is to hire an expert developer once we finish this prototype,” she said. “That will cost a lot of money. I will be writing a proposal to apply for more funding.”
Those who wish to get more information about Dia Friend or be considered for participation in the diabetes study should contact Dr. LeSeure at 508-910-6511 or send an email to pleseure@umassd.edu.
Lurdes C. da Silva may be reached at ldasilva@ojornal.com. To read more stories about the Portuguese-speaking community in English and Portuguese, please visit ojornal.com.

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