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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Sep 16, 2022; 10(26): 9180-9191
Published online Sep 16, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i26.9180
Assisting individuals with diabetes in the COVID-19 pandemic period: Examining the role of religious factors and faith communities
Chiedu Eseadi, Osita Victor Ossai, Charity Neejide Onyishi, Leonard Chidi Ilechukwu
Chiedu Eseadi, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2006, Gauteng, South Africa
Osita Victor Ossai, Department of Childhood Education, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2006, Guateng, South Africa
Charity Neejide Onyishi, Educational Psychology, University of Johannesburg, South Africa, Johannesburg 2006, Guteng, South Africa
Leonard Chidi Ilechukwu, Department of Arts Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410001, Enugu, Nigeria
Author contributions: Eseadi C, Ossai OV, Onyishi CN, and Ilechukwu LC conceived the study; Eseadi C, Ossai OV, Onyishi CN, and Ilechukwu LC designed the study, conducted the literature review and were responsible for the analysis, drafting, editing, and approval of the final version of this manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflict of interests for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Leonard Chidi Ilechukwu, PhD, Senior Lecturer, Department of Arts Education, University of Nigeria, Bab Fafunwa Building Faculty of Education, Room 102, Nsukka 410001, Enugu, Nigeria. leonard.ilechukwu@gmail.com
Received: April 1, 2022
Peer-review started: April 1, 2022
First decision: April 25, 2022
Revised: May 4, 2022
Accepted: August 16, 2022
Article in press: August 16, 2022
Published online: September 16, 2022
Abstract

With the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, diabetes management has become more challenging than it has ever been. Studies on the management of diabetes during this time are required. Unfortunately, the lack of information on the potential role of religious factors and faith communities in diabetes management during the COVID-19 era prevents us from fully understanding the issue of diabetes management during the COVID-19 pandemic period. People with chronic conditions such as diabetes may benefit from some form of religious support from faith communities and their ability to cope could be fostered by some religious factors. It is unclear how religious factors and faith communities contribute to diabetes management. In this article, the authors examine how people with diabetes can be aided in the COVID-19 pandemic period from the perspective of religious factors and faith communities. Based on the studies identified, it appears that religious factors and faith communities play an important role in managing diabetes among patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19, Diabetes, Faith communities, Religious factors

Core Tip: Diabetes is a common comorbidity among coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. At this time of COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to research the management of diabetes. In this article, the authors examine how people with diabetes can be aided in the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of religious factors and faith communities. The identified studies suggested that religious factors and faith communities play an important role in diabetes management during the COVID-19 pandemic.