Case study

Empowering Rochdale’s Diabetic Population with Trusted Digital Health Tools

Sector:

NHS / Primary Care
Long-Term Condition Management

Challenge:

High diabetes prevalence; need to empower self-management through trusted digital tools

Solution:

Digital health library
Automated distribution campaign

The challenge

Tackling diabetes differently: Empowering a population through digital health

Since 2022, ORCHA’s work within Rochdale Place has centred on direct-to-population initiatives supporting long-term conditions and mental health across the primary care system.

These programmes combine targeted e-communications (via GP text batching) with curated digital landing pages that direct specific population groups to trusted digital health resources.

Within long-term condition management, diabetes has been a particular priority due to its higher local prevalence — 8.8% of the adult population compared with a national average of 7.3% (NHS Quality Outcome Framework, 2021/22).

The goal:

To improve self-management, engagement, and outcomes for residents living with or at risk of diabetes through safe, assured digital health tools.

The solution

To meet this need, ORCHA curated a collection of clinically assured digital health apps tailored to the management and prevention of diabetes.

The selection process, guided by ORCHA’s clinical and assurance teams, identified the most effective apps for empowering individuals to self-manage their condition - from tracking blood glucose and diet to supporting lifestyle change.

Once approved, these apps were shared via GP text campaigns, with direct links enabling residents across Rochdale to instantly download and use the recommended tools. The campaign was delivered in collaboration with Primary Care Networks, ensuring alignment across the local system.

The impact

Between May and October 2023, the text-batch campaign achieved:

2,400 app downloads — around 400 per month

Engagement from 11% of the targeted diabetic population

If extended across a full year, this would equate to approximately 4,800 downloads, reaching an estimated 23% of Rochdale adults identified with diabetes or pre-diabetes (circa 21,000 adults).

Among the most downloaded apps were those proven to improve health outcomes - including the Low Carb Programme, which research shows can significantly improve blood sugar control:

Participants achieving HbA1c <6.5% rose from 25.7% to 50.3% after one year of use.

These outcomes reinforce how assured digital health tools can enhance long-term condition management and complement traditional care pathways.

The evidence base

Research conducted by ORCHA has shown that:

Type 2 Diabetes: Patients using digital tools alongside medication saw an average HbA1c reduction of up to 1.1%, comparable to the impact of Metformin.
Type 1 Diabetes: Users achieved an average 0.5% reduction in HbA1c, with improvements also seen in cholesterol, blood pressure, and BMI across 20 of 25 clinical trials.
Engagement: Drop-out rates for digital tool users were just 20%, compared to the expected 40%.

Full study: Frontiers in Clinical Diabetes and Healthcare