What Are the Experiences and Training Needs of Home-Based Carers in Dealing With Diabetes in a Rural Village in South Africa? An Explorative Study

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus is a difficult chronic condition associated with morbidity, mortality and loss of quality of life. In Sub-Saharan African countries, HBC (Home-Based Carers) play an important role in the care of people diagnosed with chronic illnesses like diabetes. However, home-based carers seem to lack knowledge to care of people with diabetes because they have not been not formally trained. The aim of this study is to explore and describe the practices, knowledge and learning needs of Home-Based Carers (HBCs) of people with diabetes. A qualitative explorative approach was taken, holding interviews with 15 HBCs at the 4 clinics in the Ga-Dikgale village. The purposive sampling method was used to select participants for this study. Four themes are described: activities performed by HBCs during the care of diabetes patients, existing structures and sources of information for HBCs on the management of diabetic patients, challenges experienced by HBCs during the provision of care to diabetes patients and the learning needs of HBCs, based on how they want their training to be organised. HBCs execute various activities during the care of PWD (patients with diabetes) including providing nutritional advice, medication support, helping with household chores, accompanying patients to healthcare services and dressing their wounds. However, they lack knowledge of issues related to the care of PWD, which makes their role very difficult and challenging.