Determinants of primary healthcare physicians’ knowledge of diabetic kidney disease

African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Determinants of primary healthcare physicians’ knowledge of diabetic kidney disease
 
Creator Fadili, Wafaa
 
Subject primary care; general practice; primary health care Diabetic kidney disease; primary practitioners; knowledge evaluation; screening; management; referral
Description Background: Early identification of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a real means to prevent the progression of kidney disease. The involvement of primary practitioners in screening programmes is particularly needed as most patients with diabetes are managed in primary care.Aim: This study aims to assess primary practitioners’ knowledge regarding screening, referral and management guidelines of patients with diabetes.Setting: Routine clinical setting in the region of Marrakesh.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study including primary practitioners in the region of Marrakesh between May and June 2024. A 16-item questionnaire was developed to evaluate their knowledge about screening, referral and management of DKD. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify factors associated with knowledge levels.Results: Of the 295 general practitioners solicited for the study, 100 physicians agreed to participate, thus translating to a response rate of 33.9%. Most participants (61%) showed high levels of adherence to DKD guidelines, but they presented a substantial gap in knowledge regarding the optimum screening time of DKD in patients with type 1 diabetes, the ideal screening test for albuminuria, the recommended interval for the routine surveillance, the annual screening tests, the therapeutic target of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), the indications of Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) and the timing of referral to a nephrologist. Higher knowledge scores were observed among physicians who received training in diabetes management.Conclusion: This study showed varying degrees of knowledge across different aspects of DKD management in primary care. Therefore, renal health programmes should prioritise enhancing the involvement and the regular training of primary practitioners.Contribution: This study emphasises the need for ongoing DKD training among primary healthcare practitioners to enhance their knowledge and improve the early management of patients with DKD.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2026-04-29
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Survey
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/phcfm.v18i1.5322
 
Source African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine; Vol 18, No 1 (2026); 8 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/5322/9246 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/5322/9247 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/5322/9248 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/5322/9249
 
Coverage North Africa May 2024- June 2024 general practitioners working at primary care centers of the region of Marrakesh from government and private sectors
Rights Copyright (c) 2026 Wafaa Fadili https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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