Exploration of healthcare professionals' view on diabetes care for childbearing women towards the delivery of preconception care in Lagos, Nigeria [EMBARGOED]

Abstract

Diabetes is a growing public health crisis of non-communicable metabolic disease characterized by a high level of body glucose. Globally, the epidemic of diabetes is skyrocketing and progressing at an alarming rate with people diagnosed with diabetes, in which the number of people affected by the disease is projected to be over 700 million by 2045. In Nigeria, the number of people living with diabetes is over 3 million in 2021. The country is ranked as the second African nation affected by the disease in the Sub-Saharan region. However, Diabetes Care (DC) for childbearing women is still lagging because pregnancy outcomes among Nigerian childbearing women are yet to be the same as non-diabetic women. There is a significant increase in adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as preterm birth, stillbirth, macrosomia, admission into special care baby units, and standardized Preconception Care (PCC) in the country. Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) play an important role in DC for childbearing women. Thus, this study explores HCPs’ views on DC for childbearing women towards the provision of PCC in Lagos, Nigeria. Methods: This study is a qualitative exploratory design. Individual face-to-face, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted among twenty participants purposively selected from two government hospitals in Lagos, Nigeria. Data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically. Findings: Nineteen themes emerged from the five study objectives. Four themes were identified from the first, second, third, and fifth objectives, while the fourth objective identified three themes. The emerging themes were positive views of HCPs in providing DC, the need for PCC to complement Antenatal Care (ANC), approaches to improve and barriers related to self-efficacy of HCPs, identifying few strategies for improving DC for childbearing women, and promising views on the establishment of PCC. Conclusion: PCC is essential for Nigerian childbearing women, especially those with diabetes, in order to optimize and reduce maternal and child mortality and morbidity as well as for health promotion. It is recommended to health stakeholders, including government, policymakers, health care professionals, researchers, and academicians, to integrate PCC successfully into existing obstetric care practice in Lagos, Nigeria, to achieve the sustainable development goal of mother and child.