Diabetes in the Himalayas: Psychosocial barriers and solutions

Abstract

Psychosocial problems are common in diabetic population. Apart from the common issues faced by the diabetics everywhere, the Himalayan population suffer unique psychosocial burden arising out of poor social infrastructures, low economy and education, and extreme bio-geographical disadvantages. The patients are deprived of modern state-of-art scientific health care and mostly depend on conventional medicine. Stress, hostility, and depression emerging out of this misery affect the health of diabetics through modified behaviors, lifestyles, and psychology. Studies have demonstrated that addressing psychosocial issues is unequivocally associated with better outcomes in diabetes management. The psychosocial support and education highlighted by the DAWN study can be rightly adopted to solve the psychosocial problems and improve the daily life of the diabetic people in general as well as in the Himalayas.

Conventional medicine - diabetes - Himalayas - psychosocial problems

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