Healthcare workers’ views on type 2 diabetes mellitus management at selected clinics in Mthatha

African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Healthcare workers’ views on type 2 diabetes mellitus management at selected clinics in Mthatha
 
Creator Ameh, Michael O. Kaswa, Ramprakash P. Cawe, Busisiwe
 
Subject Family Medicine; general practice; rural health diabetes; views; healthcare workers; management; primary healthcare
Description Background: Diabetes is a non-communicable disease of global public health importance. Healthcare workers play a vital role in the management of this disease.Aim: This study aimed to explore healthcare workers’ views on managing patients with type 2 diabetes at primary health care facilities.Setting: The study was conducted at two primary health care facilities in Mthatha, South Africa.Methods: This exploratory descriptive qualitative study included 28 primary health care workers. Data were collected through individual interviews and focus group discussions and analysed using a thematic analysis approach.Results: Study participants’ views of poor control of type 2 diabetes mellitus were categorised under patient- and healthcare system-related factors. The patient-related factors included poor adherence to an ideal diabetic diet, poor medication adherence, a lack of personal glucometers, and dearth of support systems. The healthcare system-related factors identified were inadequate patient education, long waiting times at the health facilities, high patient volumes, limited resources, and delayed service provision. Proposed solutions to address poor control of diabetes included improving patient health education, providing diabetic patients with glucometers, multi-stakeholder management of diabetes, allocating designated areas for patients with chronic illnesses, improved resource allocation, and regular staff training.Conclusion: Study participants perceived an improved level of control of diabetes among patients managed at the Community Health Centres. When designing interventions for the management of diabetes, both patient and healthcare system-related factors and the proposed solutions should be considered.Contribution: This study’s findings could promote better management of diabetes at the primary health care level.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2024-07-18
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Qualitative research
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/phcfm.v16i1.4382
 
Source African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine; Vol 16, No 1 (2024); 10 pages 2071-2936 2071-2928
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/4382/7368 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/4382/7369 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/4382/7370 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/4382/7371
 
Coverage Africa; South Africa; Eastern Cape; OR Tambo District; King Sabata Dalindyebo Sub-District 2020-2021 Primary healthcare workers
Rights Copyright (c) 2024 Michael O. Ameh, Ramprakash Kaswa, Busisiwe Cawe https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
ADVERTISEMENT