Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

School

Public Health

Advisor

JaMuir Robinson

Abstract

AbstractStudies have shown that chronic diabetes can be managed throughout a lifetime, despite the numerous health, social and economic consequences of the disease. Nevertheless, researchers have yet to establish the efficacy of access to diabetic information on care and family needs in relation to living with diabetes in a developing country like Nigeria. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences, including both barriers and needs regarding access to information and care, of diabetic patients in Abuja Municipal Area Council, Nigeria. The study used the Social-Ecological Model as a framework for analysis. Adopting the phenomenological research method, six Type II diabetes patients and five community health workers were studied: interviewed and engaged in in-depth discussion during which data were collected. Data were analyzed and interpreted using the Van Kaam approach, and nine themes were generated. The result of the study shows that while diabetic care information is available in healthcare facilities, access was constrained by factors such as out-of-pocket cost, patient’s level of education and literacy, physician referral, and other family needs. These factors were shown to create in participant’s adverse sick-roles such as avoidance of care facilities, susceptibility to fake drugs, and mixing modern and traditional medicines. The study highlighted the increasing importance of literacy, financial capacity, family support, and the need for community-based diabetic associations. Thus, the recommendations that there is a strong rationale for the formation of diabetes patients’ associations with both national and international outlook to coordinate and support care needs in patients in Nigeria. Nigeria’s Ministry of Health and Information needs to collaborate towards information dissemination on diabetes conditions and care.

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