Relationship between family support and quality of life of type-2 diabetes mellitus patients attending family medicine clinic, federal medical centre, Ido–Ekiti.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease with increase morbidity and mortality. It could be associated with significant adverse outcomes including poor quality of life. In Sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria has a large share of the morbidity and mortality of DM. Several factors have been found to be associated with better quality of life among diabetes mellitus (DM) patients. There is a dearth of local research work on the relationship of family support and quality of life of this group of patients.Objective: This study sought to determine the relationship between family support and quality of life of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients attending family medicine clinic, Federal Medical Centre, Ido-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study of 250 adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus was carried out over twenty (20) weeks. Respondents' family support was measured using Perceived Social Support – Family Scale {PSS- Fa}, while their quality of life was measured using the short version of the World Health Organization quality of life assessment tool (WHOQOL-BREF).Results: The level of family support was significantly associated with quality of life at p-value less than 0.001. Majority [n = 104 (59.8%)] of the respondents who reported having strong family support had fair quality of life. Also, a significant percentage (85.7%) of all respondents who had good quality of life were found to have strong family support. The converse was true of respondents with poor quality of life as only 5(10.4%) of them reported having strong family support. Also, majority [n = 33 (68.8%)] of respondents with poor quality of life reported having weak family support. Strong family support was an independent predictor of good quality of life among study participants. Respondents with strong family support were 14 times more likely to have good quality of life than those with no family support.Conclusion: Good family support positively correlated with better quality of life of respondents. Hence, Family Physicians should utilise this resource by advocating for an active involvement of family members in management plans of DM patients to enhance their quality of life

Prevalence of Home Based Blood Pressure Measurement and Its Relationship with Hypertension Control among Patients Seen at a Family Practice Clinic in Nigeria

Background: Hypertension remains a major non-communicable disease with numerous complications when poorly managed. Presently, there is a growing emphasis on home blood pressure measurement (HBPM) particularly in the developed world. There is a dearth of local literature on the relevance of HBPM in hypertension management and it is not routinely prescribed for hypertensive patients in our practice population. This study was conducted to determine HBPM prevalence and its association with hypertension control.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 209 respondents at the general outpatient clinic of a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. Demographic characteristics and blood pressure readings were obtained. HBPM was assessed using an intervieweradministered structured questionnaire.Results: The prevalence of HBPM among the 209 respondents was 51(24.4%); 42(82.35%) of respondents who did HBPM achieved optimal BP control as opposed to 81(51.27%) of no HBPM respondents. In addition, HBPM was significantly associated with optimal BP control (p = 0.016) and was an independent predictor of optimal BP control as an outcome.Conclusion: The prevalence of HBPM is low in our practice setting. HMBP is significantly associated with optimal hypertension control. Hence, it should be a routine recommendation for hypertensive patients Key words: Home based blood pressure monitoring, Hypertension, Control, Prevalence, Relationshi

Motivational interviewing: Exploring its relevance for improving family medicine trainees' motivation in Sub-Saharan Africa

The need for scaling up training to attain a critical mass of family physicians in Africa was affirmed in 2012 by participants at the African Regional Conference of the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) and at the workshop organised by the Primary Health Care and Family Medicine Education (PRIMAFAMED) Network. Significant progress has been made regarding this. However, trainers often encounter postgraduate trainees who show ambivalence towards completing their training. This has impacted on the number of those who complete their training, and on the goal of achieving a sufficient number of family physicians needed in the region. Motivational Interviewing has been used in clinical and academic settings to address issues that require behavioural change. The principles can be adopted by family medicine trainers in sub-Saharan Africa to resolve trainees' ambivalence towards their training, improve motivation towards completion of their postgraduate training and their intention to practice within the region. Keywords: Motivational Interviewing, Postgraduate Family Medicine Trainees, Ambivalence, sub -Saharan Afric