{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T05:28:45Z","timestamp":1787030925163,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"AOSIS","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,10]],"date-time":"2025-09-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1757462400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background:\u00a0In 2024, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) \u2013 a public health challenge \u2013 affected 589 million adults worldwide. In South Africa, the prevalence is estimated at 15%, contributing to approximately 3.4 million deaths. Achieving optimal glycaemic control in patients is challenging, resulting in preventable complications and deaths. Systemic reforms and targeted interventions are urgently required.\nAim:\u00a0To identify barriers faced by healthcare professionals (HCPs) to effectively manage patients with T2DM.\nSetting:\u00a0A survey was conducted in the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng province, South Africa.\nMethods:\u00a0The study involved 205 HCPs across 22 clinics and 6 community health centres from May 2022 to June 2022. Data were analysed descriptively. Categorical variables were compared using Fisher\u2019s exact test and a\u00a0p-value of &lt; 0.05 was considered significant.\nResults:\u00a0Most participants were nurses (84%), &lt; 50 years (65%), female (87%), black people (64.7%), and &gt; 10 years experience (65%) and had academic and in-house training on T2DM (38.5%). Key barriers faced by HCPs in managing patients with T2DM included workload making it difficult monitor patients (53%) and screen for complications (57%), time pressures to deliver quality care (59%) and educate patients (69%), inadequate insulin initiation knowledge (68%) and lack of continuity of care (62%).\nConclusion:\u00a0Excessive workloads, insufficient staffing, time pressures, insulin inertia, and knowledge gaps \u2013 impede the delivery of personalised care, patient education and monitoring.\nContribution:\u00a0Addressing these challenges will require collaborative care models, workforce optimisation, targeted training, better resource allocation and health technology and can significantly improve patient outcomes and alleviate burden among HCPs.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4102\/jphia.v16i1.1420","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,9]],"date-time":"2025-09-09T09:33:49Z","timestamp":1757410429000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Barriers to effective management of type 2 diabetes mellitus in primary healthcare facilities"],"prefix":"10.4102","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3847-444X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ntlogeleng M.","family":"Mogale","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/003hsr719","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3101-5814","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Thembelihle S.","family":"Ntuli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/003hsr719","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3477-3242","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paul K.","family":"Chelule","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/003hsr719","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2580","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref0","unstructured":"International Diabetes Federation. Diabetes Atlas [homepage on the Internet]. 2025 [cited 2025 June 29]. Available form: https:\/\/diabetesatlas.org\/media\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/04\/IDF_Atlas_11th_Edition_2025.pdf"},{"key":"ref1","unstructured":"SEMDSA. SEMDSA 2017 Guidelines for the management of Type 2 diabetes mellitus. J Endocrinol Metabol Diabetes S Afr. 2017;22(1):S30\u2013S33."},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Assah F, Mbanya JC. Diabetes in sub-Saharan Africa. In: Dagogo-Jack S, editor. Diabetes mellitus in developing countries and underserved communities. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2017. p. 33\u201348.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-41559-8_3"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bailey CJ. Under-treatment of type 2 diabetes: Causes and outcomes of clinical inertia. 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