Coping With Diabetes During the COVID-19 Lockdown in Saudi Arabia: Lessons Learned in the Post-pandemic Era.
Cureus
; 14(11): e31522, 2022 Nov.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36532936
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Uncontrolled diabetes has appeared as one of the major risk factors for morbidity and mortality in diabetic patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Alterations in dietary habits, physical inactivity, and inability to take advice from the physician are some of the contributing factors. This study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown in Saudi Arabia on medication accessibility, medication adherence, lifestyle, and quality of life of diabetes patients.METHODS:
A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among diabetic patients using a self-reported questionnaire developed on an online platform (SurveyMonkey®). The survey was distributed through social media platforms (WhatsApp, Telegram). For those who were digitally illiterate, responses were collected by family members. The targeted population was type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes patients. The analysis of the data was done using IBM SPSS Statistics, version 26.RESULTS:
Four hundred forty-nine participants completed the survey. Most of the participants had type 2 diabetes (n=359; 79.8%) and were well educated (83.2%) with a high school degree and above. Complications from COVID-19 infection were reported in 12% (n=54) patients. During quarantine, 78.8% (n=354) of participants measured their blood glucose regularly. Results showed that during quarantine, 68.3% (n=311) participants skipped their scheduled follow-up whereas only 5.1% (n=23) of them took their medication inappropriately.CONCLUSION:
This study reported good levels of self-monitoring of blood glucose levels, whereas patients' accessibility to seek healthcare services seemed to be interrupted. Further efforts are needed in the post-pandemic era to empower patients' self-care behaviors and utilize telehealth models to facilitate timely access to medical care.
Texto completo:
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Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Tipo de estudio:
Observational_studies
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Prognostic_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Cureus
Año:
2022
Tipo del documento:
Article