The Effectiveness of Diabetes Management Methods in Africa: A Systematic Review

Abstract

A chronic illness that has spread like an epidemic around the world is diabetes mellitus. It has also grown to be a significant public health issue in Africa, a continent beset by underdeveloped healthcare systems that are unable to manage the combined consequences of infectious and chronic diseases. This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of public health programs targeted towards controlling and reducing the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in Africa. A systematic review approach was used for the study. For pertinent keywords that encapsulate ideas related to "Diabetes," "Intervention," and "Africa," searches were conducted across four scientific databases: PubMed, Cochrane, CINAHL, and Web of Science between January 2023 and October 2023. COVIDENCE was used to combine resources from several databases, and then deduplication and screening were carried out. Following a full text screening procedure, 13 papers were selected from the remaining 92 articles.  An extra search of references produced two (2) more articles. A total of fifteen (15) papers met the inclusion criteria. The review's conclusions showed that couple-focused person-based interventions, hospital-based patient education programs, community-based patient education programs, mobile communication/ICT-based patient education programs, and nutritional education programs are the most often utilised diabetes management interventions in Africa. The results of this analysis demonstrated that despite significant obstacles and difficulties, these interventions have been successful in helping persons with diabetes achieve glycemic control and boost their sense of self-efficacy. Socioeconomic position, cultural sensitivity, and limited access to technology are a few of the issues noted. Despite the fact that these interventions were successful in controlling diabetes, it is still necessary to increase access to intervention programs by focusing on the communities that are most disadvantaged. Additionally, the nation's technological disparity must be closed by making sufficient infrastructural investments. To ensure effectiveness, the cultural dynamics of individual communication must also be taken into account while creating an intervention.