Exploring Cultural Influences of Self-Management of Diabetes in Coastal Kenya: An Ethnography

Munib Said Abdulrehman, Wendy Woith, Sheryl Jenkins, Susan Kossman, Gina Louise Hunter, Munib Said Abdulrehman, Wendy Woith, Sheryl Jenkins, Susan Kossman, Gina Louise Hunter

Abstract

In spite of increasing prevalence of diabetes among Kenyans and evidence suggesting Kenyans with diabetes maintain poor glycemic control, no one has examined the role of cultural attitudes, beliefs, and practices in their self-management of diabetes. The purpose of this ethnographic study was to describe diabetes self-management among the Swahili of coastal Kenya, and explore factors that affect diabetes self-management within the context of Swahili culture. Thirty men and women with type 2 diabetes from Lamu town, Kenya, participated in this study. Diabetes self-management was insufficiently practiced, and participants had limited understanding of diabetes. Economic factors such as poverty and the high cost of biomedical care appear to have more influence in self-management behavior than socio-cultural and educational factors do. Economic and socio-cultural influences on diabetes self-management should not be underestimated, especially in a limited resource environment like coastal Kenya, where biomedical care is not accessible or affordable to all.

Keywords: Africa; chronic; culture; culture / cultural competence; diabetes; ethnography; health behavior; health seeking; illness diseases; self-care.

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Mode of treatment for diabetes (N = 30).

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