The rising prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) among teachers and students in Africa is becoming disturbing. Compounding the problem is the existing poor knowledge of the basic critical elements of DM among teachers and students. This study was designed to review studies underlining the knowledge of DM among teachers and students in Africa. We searched Pubmed, Google Scholar, Medline, Scopus, African Journal Online, Science Direct, and the Cochrane Library. Using MeSH headings, such as ‘‘diabetes mellitus,’’ ‘‘knowledge,’’ “primary,” “secondary” students,” “teachers,” “educator,” “instructor,” and ‘‘Africa’’ from year 2000 to 2019. Out of the 6 eligible studies, 1 was conducted among teachers while 5 were conducted among students. Four of the studies were conducted in West Africa and 2 in Southern Africa. The mean ages of the students were 15.67 ± 1.25 years and 15.2 ± 1.30 years respectively, while the mean age of the teachers was 36.8 ± 8.0 years. The 3 cross sectional studies reported poor knowledge of DM among teachers and students while the three interventional studies among the students reported poor knowledge of DM prior to the intervention and an increased knowledge of DM at post intervention. The review highlights the poor knowledge of the critical elements of DM among teachers and students. Therefore, necessitating the need for regular health education in increasing the knowledge of DM in the school environment and in the long term reduce the impact of DM among teachers and students.

PDF