ASAFA OMOWUNMI KAFAYAT

Nursing

At the Nursing department office

Appointment on Visitation important

Topic: Healthcare Providers Views On The Provision Of Preconception Care For Women With Diabetes In Nigeria.

Description:

Background: One of the 1989 goals declared by St. Vincent focused on achieving good pregnancy outcomes for diabetic women that should be similar to those for non-diabetic women, has not been achieved among Nigerian childbearing women (CW) due to a lack of preconception care (PCC). Literature indicates an increased prevalence of diabetes, diabetes during pregnancy and pregnancy related complications across the country's geopolitical zones. The persistence of pregnancy complication can be catastrophic if PCC is not adequately established and integrated into the national healthcare sector. Healthcare providers (HCPs) offer diabetes care (DC) and PCC to CW to mitigate adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study aimed to explore HCPs perceptions of PCC and strategies towards its provision for Nigerian diabetic CW. Design: This qualitative study used an exploratory approach. Methods: Data were collected using in-depth semi-structured interviews, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analyzed. Results: Four themes emerged from the data; relevancy of PCC, redesign of DC practices, awareness creation, and necessity of diabetes PCC. Conclusion: The findings imply that there is an urgent need for upgraded obstetrics care for pregnant women to accommodate PCC for diabetic CW to reduce pregnancy complications related to diabetes, improve glycemic control, augment folic acid intake, and ensure proper pregnancy planning. The findings of this research can serve as an evidence-based document to enhance HC policies that would accommodate PCC in existing obstetrics care.  

#	Certificate	School	Year
1.	Ph.D (Nursing)	International Islamic University Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.	2024

SELF-EFFICACY OF HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS IN DELIVERING DIABETES CARE FOR WOMEN OF CHILD-BEARING AGE

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Diabetes mellitus is regarded as a significant public health issue, with a rapidly growing burden in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), more than 24 million adults aged 20-79 years in Africa are currently affected by diabetes. This number is projected to increase sharply to an estimated 142%, reaching 60 million African people who would be living with the disease by 2050 (IDF, 2025). Nigeria, a country in the IDF African region, ranks among the top five countries that bear the highest burden of the increase. It is projected that the country will have 6.6 million people with diabetes by 2050 (IDF, 2025).

The successful diagnosis and management of diabetes depend heavily on the expertise, competence, confidence, and clinical judgment abilities of multidisciplinary healthcare professionals (HCPs), including endocrinologists, diabetes educators, and specialized nurses. In resource-constrained settings such as Nigeria, the healthcare system often faces multiple systemic limitations. These include inadequate diagnostic capacity, a critical shortage of trained personnel, limited access to essential diabetic medicines, and weak referral systems (Abah, 2022). These systemic challenges often undermine healthcare providers’ confidence and effectiveness in managing chronic conditions such as diabetes.

ASAFA KAFAYAT is a Lecturer I at the Department of Nursing

ASAFA has a Ph.D in Nursing from International Islamic University Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.