Lift: Thriving with Diabetes app

This app is designed to support the general wellbeing of people living with diabetes, including both physical and mental wellbeing. The app doesn't focus on the medical management of diabetes and won't provide you with advice about medicines or managing blood glucose levels.

• The app has 7 modules to complete, which teach you about ways to improve your general wellbeing. The modules include mental wellbeing topics, eg, self-compassion, gratitude, goal setting, and relaxation. There's also a module about taking care of your body, which discusses exercise, sleep, and food.
• The modules are presented in audio format, with some subtitles (note the subtitles are designed to complement the audio and are not a complete transcript of everything spoken). Once you've completed a module, you can choose to listen to it again if you wish to, or you can read a written summary of the content discussed.
• Each module will have suggested exercises to try (eg, the Relax module has a guided breathing exercise). You can save these exercises to your “favourites” tab or come back to any of them later by clicking back on the module.
• The app utilises a rewards system that is called “your tree” – it starts off very small, and as you progress through the modules and complete exercises, you earn “nutrients” and can see your tree grow. This is intended to help you visualise the growth of your own wellbeing.
• There's a journal where you can track very basic information – a score for how your emotional well-being is today, and a free-text box where you can record what your diabetes has been like lately. You can look back on previous journal entries by clicking on each day in the calendar, but there's no other way to view this information, eg, through graphs/reports.
• There's a “get help” tab which lists emergency lines and help lines in Aotearoa New Zealand.
• There's also a “Lived experiences” section under the menu tab, which has videos of people sharing their challenges and triumphs of living with diabetes.

For the complete app description, go to Google Play(external link), App Store(external link) or, for a more detailed review, see reviews below.

Clinical review

Reviewer: Emma Riddell, Clinical Pharmacist, Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora
Date of review: June 2024
Platform: Android
Version: 1.1.3
Comments: This app covers a range of topics aimed at improving your general wellbeing. While the topics covered are beneficial to everyone, this app is specifically targeted at people living with diabetes. Each section will often include references to the challenges of living with diabetes, or how improving your general wellbeing can improve your diabetes. There is also a section of videos of people sharing their own stories of challenges and triumphs of living with diabetes. Please note this app will not cover the medical management of diabetes and will not provide you with advice about medications or managing blood glucose levels.
The topics covered by the app are mainly focused on improving your mental wellbeing, but there is also a module on general physical wellbeing. Some people may find it hard to focus on the modules – these are provided in audio format. The subtitles are brief summaries of the information and are not a full transcript. You will want to find time to sit and focus and listen to the content. If you find it easier to learn by reading information, you can also access a summary of the module once you have finished it.
Each module contains interactive exercises to complete. You will get the most benefit from this app if you engage with the exercises.
There is a very basic daily journal you can complete to log your emotional wellbeing and you can record how your diabetes has been, however I would not recommend using this as a way to track your diabetes management. The journal can provide benefit by getting you to think about your feelings and wellbeing in relation to your diabetes, but it's not a tracking tool.
Safety concerns: None.
New Zealand relevance: Yes – NZ made app, all contact numbers etc are NZ based.