Community health workers’ concept and understanding of diabetes: A qualitative study

Objectives@#Community health workers (CHWs) fill in the insufficiency of health professionals in low-income countries. The CHWs’ roles include health education of their constituents whose health they likewise take care. This study aimed to describe the concept and understanding of diabetes among CHWs in the Philippines.@*Methods@#Fifty female CHWs currently working in rural and urban areas participated in six focus group discussions with guidance from Kleinman’s eight questions. With the written informed consent of the participants, discussions were recorded and transcribed by the Research Assistant. A multi-disciplinary team manually analyzed the data. Disagreements were discussed among them and the physicians provided clinical analyses and explanations on the results. Quotations of an important point of view were also presented. Pseudonyms were utilized to uphold anonymity.@*Results@#CHWs were aged 32 to 72 years; older participants reside in rural areas. Majority were married, housekeepers, and high school graduates. Some CHWs and their family were suffering from diabetes or dyabetis, the disease of the rich according to them. Its causes were food and lifestyle, and believed to be hereditary. Complications lead to death. Amputation was feared the most. Diabetes is incurable. Persons with diabetes should take maintenance medicines, and seek physicians’ and family’s help. Together with the patient, the family must decide on its management. Balanced diet, healthy lifestyle, maintenance medicines, food supplements, and herbal plants were perceived treatments. The internist should lower blood sugar level as well as prolong life span. Proper diet and regular check-up prevent diabetes.@*Conclusions@#CHWs’ concept and understanding of diabetes reflect some of the biomedical causes, effects, treatment, and prevention of diabetes as well as its social determinants. The efficacy and safety of herbal plants in the treatment of diabetes, however, should be further studied. Training on diabetes care should be provided to address their fears of amputation, insulin injection, and complications.

Prevalence of and associations for complementary and alternative medicine use among apparently healthy individuals in the Philippine LIFECARE cohort

@#<p style="text-align: justify;"><b>OBJECTIVE:</b> The study determined the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use and its association with socio-demographic and clinical characteristics among adult Filipinos aged 20-50 years.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>METHODS:</strong> Data from the Philippine cohort of the Life Course Study in Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology (LIFECARE) in Luzon were analyzed. Multiple logistic regression determined the factors associated with the use of CAM.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>RESULTS:</strong> A total of 3,072 participants were included: average age of 36 years, more females, mostly married, living in the rural areas, and employed. The prevalence of CAM use in this population was 43%. The commonly sought traditional medicine practitioners were manghihilot (bone setter or partera) and albularyo (herbalist), and participants used herbal medicines and supplements. Use of CAM was more likely among older participants, females, living in rural areas, had medical consultation in the last six months, experienced moderate to extreme pain, and with poor perception of general health.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>CONCLUSION:</strong> The use of CAM is prevalent among apparently healthy individuals aged 20-50 years. Further studies should uncover reasons for CAM use.</p>