In recent years, there has been a marked increase in diabetes mellitus in all highly developed countries; Saudi Arabia is no exception. The World Health Organization has put Saudi Arabia in 2nd place among other countries in the Middle East and 7th place globally with a population of 7 million citizens who have diabetes and more than 3 million people with pre-diabetes diagnoses (Robert et al., 2017). Thus, it is an alarming health issue with various challenges regarding managing the disease. Further, specific cultural issues in providing self-management education support to patients with type 2 diabetes in Saudi Arabia will be discussed, which is essential in ensuring a stable and comfortable health status for the kingdom’s citizens.
Findings of the different studies claim that the prevalence of diabetes mellitus across the population in Saudi Arabia can be as high as 30%, indicating that a sedentary lifestyle, nutrition issues, and food consumption have a direct relationship with the appearance of the disease that must be appropriately managed by people themselves as it is a disease that should be monitored continuously (Milibari et al., 2020). According to researchers, there are unique cultural barriers in Saudi Arabia that hinder professionals’ ability to provide self-management education to patients with diabetes (Alzubaidi et al., 2015). It is stated that the Saudi culture has peculiarities, such as lack of exercise, reliance on high-calorie goods, and high consumption of fat and sugar (Al Slamah et al., 2020). Therefore, analysts claim that the country must create tailor-made self-management education programs based on cultural, social, and economic features to support patients with type 2 diabetes (Al Slamah et al., 2020).
Among other crucial cultural issues that exist in the administration of self-management education support to patients with type 2 diabetes is a majority of physicians (around 80%) being from different cultural backgrounds and other states (Abouammoh et al., 2016). Having such a significant proportion of international doctors, medical organizations face a challenge in providing culturally sensitive and behavioral advice. It is also proved in Saudi Arabia that excellent communication with doctors improves self-management and glycaemic control among patients (Abouammoh et al., 2016). Thus, self-management education should consider both sides, the physician and the patient, to provide relevant, culturally acceptable support to address the disease adequately.
Regarding the misconceptions of cultural peculiarities in Saudi Arabia for patients with type 2 diabetes, researchers state that people, especially the female population with the disease, encounter cultural misperceptions about doing exercises or social eating, as well as who should be involved in sports (Al Slamah et al., 2020). It is highlighted that men perceive that tracks in the clubs are made only for them, and females cannot use them to exercise, which causes significant problems for female patients with type 2 diabetes. Simultaneously, it was reported that the women population adheres better to medication and can be easier approached when considering self-management education programs conducted by medical professionals (Albargawi et al., 2016).
Summarizing the findings, one can state that there are specific features that emphasize the cultural challenges in providing self-management education support to patients with type 2 diabetes in Saudi Arabia. Nevertheless, it is evident that the education provided by professionals related to self-management of the disease is significant and has positive effects on patients’ health and well-being. Therefore, patients’ cultural backgrounds and perceptions of their health, behavior, and habits should be considered by healthcare providers to create tailor-made self-management support programs and enhance the patients’ adherence to effective self-care management.
References
Abouammoh, N., Barnes, S. & Goyder, E. (2016). Providing lifestyle advice to people with type 2 diabetes from different cultures: A qualitative investigation. Diabetes & Primary Care, 18(6). 283-287. Web.
Al Slamah, T., Nicholl, B., Y. Alslail, F., Harris, L., Melville, C., Kinnear, D. (2020). Cultural adaptation of self-management of type 2 diabetes in Saudi Arabia (qualitative study).Plos One. Web.
Albargawi, M., Snethen, J., Gannass, A., Kelber, S. (2016). Perception of persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 3(1), 39-44. Web.
Alzubaidi, H., Mc Namara, K., Browning, C., et al. (2015). Barriers and enablers to healthcare access and use among Arabic-speaking and Caucasian English-speaking patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a qualitative comparative study.BMJ Open, 5. Web.
Milibari, A.A., Matuure, E.Y., Gadah, E. M. (2020). Prevalence, determinants and prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Arabic countries: A systematc review study. Health Science Journal, 14(2), 701. Web.
Robert, A. A., Al Dawish, M. A., Braham, R., Musallam, M. A., Al Hayek, A. A., & Al Kahtany, N. H. (2017). Type 2 diabetes mellitus in Saudi Arabia: Major challenges and possible solutions. Current diabetes reviews, 13(1), 59–64. Web.