Introducing a multifaceted approach to the management of diabetes mellitus in resource-limited settings

Abstract

Globally diabetes mellitus (DM) and its complications are placing an enormous burden on individual patients and countries alike. South Africa is a developing country already under enormous pressure from communicable diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis. Added to this is DM, which serves to fuel the interactions between communicable and non-communicable diseases. Data from KwaZulu-Natal Province (KZN) have demonstrated that the majority of patients with DM in the public healthcare sector are diagnosed and started on treatment at their local resource-limited healthcare clinics. This article describes introduction of a multifaceted approach to the management of DM in a resource-limited clinic at Edendale Hospital, Pietermaritzburg, KZN. Strategies like this may help provide a blueprint for other resource-limited healthcare facilities in developing countries.