Challenges of Routine Diabetes Care During COVID-19 Era: A Systematic Search and Narrative Review

Overview

Journal Prim Care Diabetes

Publisher Elsevier

Specialties Endocrinology
Public Health

Date 2021 Aug 16

PMID 34393092

Citations 31

Authors

Mohammad Mohseni

Shiler Ahmadi

Saber Azami-Aghdash

Haleh Mousavi Isfahani

Ahmad Moosavi

Mozhgan Fardid

Manal Etemadi

Fatemeh Ghazanfari

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: The world is facing the current COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic response is affecting routine health care provision all over the world. We aimed to review the relevant literature and highlight challenges in the provision of routine care for patients with diabetes during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Embase databases up till August 13, 2020 and retrieved relevant articles published on difficulties on routine diabetes management during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results: Through our reading of the recent literature discussing the difficulties of routine healthcare provision for patients with diabetes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we have identified nine themes as follows: lockdown of standard outpatient clinics, decreased inpatient capacity, staff shortage, medicine shortage, unaffordable medicine, delayed care seeking, limited self-care practice, transport difficulties, and undiagnosed cases/events.

Conclusion: Diabetes management during lockdown is particularly challenging. This review specified a summary of difficulties of diabetes care during COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare policy makers as well as healthcare providers could take advantage of the results of this review to mitigate the adverse effect of the crisis on provision of routine care for diabetes as well as other chronic conditions.

Citing Articles

Antidiabetic Medicines Utilisation During Pre-Pandemic, Pandemic and Post-Pandemic Period of COVID-19-Data for Bulgarian Population.

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Impact of COVID-19 on metabolic parameters in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Shabestari M, Salari F, Azizi R, Ghadiri-Anari A, Namiranian N BMC Pulm Med. 2025; 25(1):58.

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Association of the COVID-19 Pandemic with HbA1c Testing and Complication Screening in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus.

Jang J, Lee D, Suh J, Shin J Yonsei Med J. 2024; 65(11):669-676.

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Estimation of the prevalence of anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic: A meta-analysis of meta-analyses.

Amini-Rarani M, Azami-Aghdash S, Mousavi Isfahani H, Mohseni M BMC Public Health. 2024; 24(1):2831.

PMID: 39407138 PMC: 11476206. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-19729-7.

Characteristics associated with perceived level of confidence managing diabetes among United States adults with diabetes: A retrospective cross-sectional study.

Cornelison B, Aqel O, Axon D J Family Med Prim Care. 2024; 13(6):2440-2448.

PMID: 39027830 PMC: 11254041. DOI: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1025_23.

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