Diabetes Self-Management Programmes in Ugandan Secondary Schools: A Systematic Review

Diabetes is a significant public health issue in Uganda, particularly among secondary school students who are at an age with increasing risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes. A comprehensive search was conducted on PubMed, Google Scholar, and local databases using keywords related to diabetes management and education in secondary schools. Inclusion criteria included studies published between and that reported outcomes from at least one intervention aimed at improving self-management skills among diabetic students. The review identified five relevant studies, which collectively showed a moderate improvement (p < 0.05) in students' knowledge scores post-intervention compared to baseline. While the evidence is limited and mixed, there is a growing recognition of the need for diabetes self-management programmes in secondary schools, although their implementation varies widely across institutions. Schools should consider integrating diabetes education into existing curricula or as extracurricular activities. Future research should focus on evaluating long-term effects and cost-effectiveness. Treatment effect was estimated with logit(pᵢ)=β₀+β^ Xᵢ, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.