A quantitative analysis of the influence of a household’s income, access to food and education level on the prevalence of diabetes in adults: a secondary analysis of data from the South African General Household Survey of 2014.
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Date
2018
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Abstract
As diabetes mellitus is becoming a burgeoning epidemic in South Africa, preventative measures
are required to stop its prevalence in adults. Hence, the aim of this study is to explore the South
African General Household Survey data to try and understand the influence of a household’s
average per capita income, access to food and the head of the household’s average educational
level on the prevalence of diabetes in adults. It specifically looks at the data from a household
level and not an individual level and uses literature to support and give meaning to the results.
Furthermore, this study used bivariate analysis to determine if there is a difference between
adult residents who have diabetes and adult residents who do not have diabetes. In addition to
this, a multiple logistic regression was conducted to explain any significant effect of the three
key variables under study. Results indicate that there is a difference in all three variables
between households with adult residents with diabetes and households without adult residents
with diabetes. Furthermore, only the head of the household’s average education level had a
significant effect on the prevalence of diabetes. These findings suggest that there is some
influence on the prevalence of diabetes for individuals who have higher levels of education.
This entry level study tried to make sense of these findings in terms of literature to inform future
and more direct in-depth research which is urgently required to understand and combat the
increasing prevalence of diabetes in South Africa. Significantly, the conclusion of this study
suggests that the General Household Survey incorporates both type I diabetes mellitus and type
II diabetes mellitus in their questionnaire, as these are unique diseases with their own risk
factors and which require different preventative measures.
Description
Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.