Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Care of Patients with Diabetes Mellitus at Kitwe Teaching Hospital in 2021

Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic tested the resilience of the health care system in many countries including Zambia. At the peak, disruption of the global supply chain affected availability of essential commodities needed to manage many health ailments like diabetes mellitus (DM). The study was aimed to understand the challenges faced by DM patients in accessing specialist services at KTH DM specialist clinic during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted with a total of 293 participants (109 males and 184 females) recruited using a designed structured questionnaire and results analyzed using Microsoft Office Excel 2016 and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0 software. The mean age was 54.0 ± 13.0 years old with 78(26.6%) being below the age of 45 years. 197(67.2%) were married and 157(53.6%) had primary education or less. 216(73.7%) and 222(75.8%) were earning <US$5.00 per day before and during Covid-19 pandemic respectively while the majority were spending one fifth of their earned income on medication from private pharmacies alone. 231(78.8%) had T2DM while 149(50.8%) had high plasma glucose levels; high BMI, high waist circumference and hypertension 184(62.8%). The study suggested that disruption of outpatient services led to patients presenting with high plasma glucose levels, poorly controlled weight (high BMI and high waist circumference). Commonest complications included hypertension and peripheral neuropathy. There is a need to devise a more pragmatic and resilient healthcare system in future to minimize the effects of any pandemic should they arise. Keywords: Covid-19, Diabetes medication, Diabetes mellitus, Essential healthcare services, Hypertension, Lifestyle modification.