Patients’ and healthcare providers’ perspectives of diabetes management in Cambodia: a qualitative study

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the challenges encountered by patients and healthcare providers and opportunities for improvement in managing diabetes mellitus (DM) in a low- and middle-income country (LMIC) facing a rise in DM prevalence. DESIGN: Qualitative cross-sectional study. SETTING: Urban, semiurban, and rural areas in Cambodia. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty health service providers and fifty-nine adult DM patients. RESULTS: Most of the 59 DM patients reported having developed DM complications when they first sought treatment. The biggest challenges for the patients were geographical barriers, diet control, and shortage of medication supply. The healthcare staff expressed concerns about their limited knowledge and lack of confidence to treat diabetes, limited availability of diabetes care services, inadequate laboratory services, shortage of staff, poor patients’ compliance, and insufficient medication supplies. Both healthcare staff and patients urged an expansion of diabetes services in Cambodia and prioritisation of diabetes care in a manner similar to communicable disease control programmes of the recent past. CONCLUSIONS: Currently, the Cambodian healthcare system has very limited capacity to provide quality care for chronic diseases. As a consequence, many patients are either left untreated or have interrupted care due to several barriers including financial, geographical, and lack of knowledge and skills. A more comprehensive and multipronged approach is urgently needed to improve DM care, which would require a collaborative effort from government, external funding agencies, private sector, and communities.