Co-designed
Developed with, not just for, women with gestational diabetes.
Research & evidence
Built from a PhD intervention designed to empower women with GDM.
SugrMama is grounded in co-designed, peer-reviewed research — not guesswork.
The evidence
Co-designed, person-centred, and tested with real women.
SugrMama began as an adaptive, personalised, and co-designed educational digital health intervention developed through PhD research. In testing, women reported improved perceived self-efficacy, and health literacy scores improved after the intervention.
Users highlighted meal-time reminders, small achievable goals, and personalised education as especially valuable. The design approach is person-centred, supportive, and weight-neutral.
By the numbers
What the research found.
Improved
health literacy scores post-intervention
Improved
perceived self-efficacy in women with GDM
65%
found meal-time reminders most useful
59%
valued small, achievable goals
41%
valued personalised education
65%
rated the intervention highly acceptable and would recommend it
Methodology
Rigorous, inclusive, and community-led.
The intervention was developed using a co-design process that included women with lived experience of GDM, healthcare professionals, and digital health researchers. This ensured the tool was not just clinically sound, but genuinely useful and acceptable to the people it was built for.
The approach draws on established frameworks for health literacy, self-efficacy theory (Bandura), and behaviour change — ensuring that every feature has a theoretical and evidence-based rationale.
Theory-grounded
Built on self-efficacy theory and health literacy frameworks.
Clinically reviewed
Reviewed and refined with healthcare professionals and diabetes educators.
Read the full PhD thesis
Access the complete research report, including methodology, literature review, findings, and recommendations.