Non-communicable Diseases In South Africa Research Articles

Obesity, beverage consumption and sleep patterns in rural African women in relation to advertising of these beverages.

The burden of obesity-related, non-communicable diseases in South Africa is persistent, with poor and black South African women particularly vulnerable. The purpose of the present study was to determine relationships between obesity, physical activity, sleep patterns and beverage consumption among black South African women in a rural village in the Limpopo province. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 rural-dwelling African women. Data were collected on beverage consumption, sociodemographic information, sleep patterns and anthropometry using self-reported questionnaires. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 28.5±7.3kg/m2, with 40% being classified as obese (BMI ≥30kg/m2) and the mean sleep score was 4.68±2.51. Participants with very bad habitual sleeping patterns consumed significantly more sugar-sweetened beverages and alcohol than those with very good sleeping patterns. We also observed that when total coffee with sugar, fruit juice, total sugar-sweetened beverages and weight decreased the number of hours participants slept increased. The study identified significant associations between body weight, sleep duration and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among rural black South African women. This underscores a need to address unhealthy lifestyle behaviours to lower incidences of non-communicable diseases in rural-dwelling women.

A National Laboratory Perspective: The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Management of Patients With Non-Communicable Disease in South Africa: Impact of COVID-19 on patients with noncommunicable diseases.

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on test requests for the diagnosis and routine care of patients with various non-communicable diseases (NCD) across South Africa (SA). A retrospective audit of laboratory test requests received from hospital outpatient departments and primary healthcare facilities across SA was performed. The following analytes were studied: glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), lipids profiles, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and thyroxine (fT4), as well as triiodothyronine (fT3), serum protein electrophoresis (SPE), serum free light chains (SFLC), and prostate specific antigen (PSA); these tests were used as a proxy of NCD detection and follow-up. Requests received during the 3 waves of the pandemic were compared to requests received within the same period during 2017 - 2019. During the first wave, requests for all analytes were reduced, with the biggest reduction observed for SPE (- 37%); TSH (- 29%); fT4 (- 28%); and HbA1c (- 25%). Requests received from urban facilities showed a larger decrease compared to those from rural facilities. During the third wave there was an increase in requests for all analytes; the biggest increase observed was for fT3 (21%) and HbA1c (18%). The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the South African population receiving care in the public healthcare sector.

A National Laboratory Perspective: The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Management of Patients With Non-Communicable Disease in South Africa: Impact of COVID-19 on patients with noncommunicable diseases - ERRATUM.

A National Laboratory Perspective: The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Management of Patients With Non-Communicable Disease in South Africa: Impact of COVID-19 on patients with noncommunicable diseases - ERRATUM.

Geospatial assessment of the convergence of communicable and non-communicable diseases in South Africa.

Several low-and middle-income countries are undergoing rapid epidemiological transition with a rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). South Africa (SA) is a country with one of the largest HIV epidemics worldwide and a growing burden of NCDs where the collision of these epidemics poses a major public health challenge. Using data from a large nationally representative survey, the South Africa Demographic and Health Survey (SADHS 2016), we conducted a geospatial analysis of several diseases including HIV, tuberculosis (TB), cardiovascular, respiratory, and metabolic diseases to identify areas with a high burden of co-morbidity within the country. We explored the spatial structure of each disease and associations between diseases using different spatial and visual data methodologies. We also assessed the individual level co-occurrence of HIV and the other diseases included in the analysis. The spatial distribution for HIV prevalence showed that this epidemic is most intense in the eastern region of the country, mostly within the Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and Kwazulu-Natal provinces. In contrast, chronic diseases had their highest prevalence rates the southern region of the country, particularly in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces. Individual-level analyses were consistent with the spatial correlations and found no statistically significant associations between HIV infection and the presence of any NCDs. We found no evidence of geospatial overlap between the HIV epidemic and NCDs in SA. These results evidence the complex epidemiological landscape of the country, characterized by geographically distinct areas exhibiting different health burdens. The detailed description of the heterogenous prevalence of HIV and NCDs in SA reported in this study could be a useful tool to inform and direct policies to enhance targeted health service delivery according to the local health needs of each community.

The met and unmet health needs for HIV, hypertension, and diabetes in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: analysis of a cross-sectional multimorbidity survey

The convergence of infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases in South Africa is challenging to health systems. In this analysis, we assessed the multimorbidity health needs of individuals and communities in rural KwaZulu-Natal and established a framework to quantify met and unmet health needs for individuals living with infectious and non-communicable diseases. We analysed data collected between May 25, 2018, and March 13, 2020, from participants of a large, community-based, cross-sectional multimorbidity survey (Vukuzazi) that offered community-based HIV, hypertension, and diabetes screening to all residents aged 15 years or older in a surveillance area in the uMkhanyakude district in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Data from the Vukuzazi survey were linked with data from demographic and health surveillance surveys with a unique identifier common to both studies. Questionnaires were used to assess the diagnosed health conditions, treatment history, general health, and sociodemographic characteristics of an individual. For each condition (ie, HIV, hypertension, and diabetes), individuals were defined as having no health needs (absence of condition), met health needs (condition that is well controlled), or one or more unmet health needs (including diagnosis, engagement in care, or treatment optimisation). We analysed met and unmet health needs for individual and combined conditions and investigated their geospatial distribution. Of 18 041 participants who completed the survey (12 229 [67·8%] were female and 5812 [32·2%] were male), 9898 (54·9%) had at least one of the three chronic diseases measured. 4942 (49·9%) of these 9898 individuals had at least one unmet health need (1802 [18·2%] of 9898 needed treatment optimisation, 1282 [13·0%] needed engagement in care, and 1858 [18·8%] needed a diagnosis). Unmet health needs varied by disease; 1617 (93·1%) of 1737 people who screened positive for diabetes, 2681 (58·2%) of 4603 people who screened positive for hypertension, and 1321 (21·7%) of 6096 people who screened positive for HIV had unmet health needs. Geospatially, met health needs for HIV were widely distributed and unmet health needs for all three conditions had specific sites of concentration; all three conditions had an overlapping geographical pattern for the need for diagnosis. Although people living with HIV predominantly have a well controlled condition, there is a high burden of unmet health needs for people living with hypertension and diabetes. In South Africa, adapting current, widely available HIV care services to integrate non-communicable disease care is of high priority. Fogarty International Center and the National Institutes of Health, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the South African Department of Science and Innovation, the South African Medical Research Council, the South African Population Research Infrastructure Network, and the Wellcome Trust. For the isiZulu translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Social determinants of health in non-communicable diseases prevention policies in South Africa.

The South African government has developed many policies for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases. However, non-communicable diseases remain among the major causes of morbidity and mortality in South Africa. Although these diseases are linked to interaction of multiple risk factors, many of which are modifiable, they continue to cause much suffering particularly among the marginalised and people from the lower socio-economic status. The objective of this research was to explore and present the inclusion of social determinants of health in the policies meant for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases in South Africa. The qualitative document analysis approach was used to conduct policy analysis of purposefully selected policies for prevention and control of cancers, obesity and mental and behavioural disorders in South Africa. The analysis revealed that policies for prevention and control of cancers, obesity and mental and behavioural disorders included policy intervention activities that focused on five social determinants of health: (1) governance, (2) social policies, (3) public policies, (4) material circumstances and (5) health system. Excluding most of the important social determinants of health in the policies for prevention and control of non-communicable diseases means that these policies would continue to fail in preventing these diseases from the root causes.Contribution:This article points out weaknesses in the policies meant for prevention and control of obesity, cancers and mental and behavioural disorders. This article further suggests policy improvement strategies that may be considered to effectively address these diseases.

Collaboration in the formulation and implementation of policies for noncommunicable diseases in South Africa.

Collaboration between health and other sectors is necessary and much needed when addressing health issues. The health sector alone does not possess all the necessary resources to address health problems in the country. Thus, the burden of disease because of the noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) requires interventions that are sometimes beyond the health sector's mandate. To investigate collaboration in the policy formulation process for prevention and control of NCDs in South Africa. This article presents strategies that could aid South African government to ensure collaboration by various sectors in addressing the NCDs. This study took place in the provincial Department of Health (DoH) of seven South African provinces. This was quantitative descriptive study done among purposefully sampled respondents from various health portfolios from seven provincial Departments of Health. Data were collected using questionnaires and analysed using descriptive statistical data analysis techniques. The results indicated that the DoH collaborates with private and government stakeholders in the policy formulation and implementation process but excludes them in the setting the health agenda, adoption of policy options and policy evaluation. The lack of participation by other stakeholders in the critical phases of policy formulation will result in continued burden of disease because of poor prevention and control of NCDs in the country. This article provides recommendations that would ensure collaboration among various sectors to accelerate the response to the prevention and control of NCDs in South Africa.

National Strategic Plan for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases in South Africa

National Strategic Plan for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases in South Africa

National Strategic Plan for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases in South Africa

National Strategic Plan for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases in South Africa

Women’s access to health care for non-communicable diseases in South Africa: A scoping review.

Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as obesity, hypertension (HPT), and type II diabetes (T2D) are of increasing concern in South Africa (SA), with women being more at risk. Authors conducted a scoping review to identify and map the evidence available about the barriers of access to obesity, HPT, and T2D care among women in SA. Methods: Arksey and O'Malley's framework for scoping review was used. The search of the literature was completed in the Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed databases between April and May 2022. Only studies conducted among women in SA were eligible for inclusion. Identified barriers were mapped onto Levesque’s framework of access to health care to determine which points along the chain of accessing NCD health care among women are mostly impacted. Results: Seven articles were included in the review: qualitative (n=2), quantitative (n=2), mixed methods (n=2), and grey literature (n=1). The included studies reported barriers of access to HPT and T2D care only, and no study reported barriers to obesity care. Supply-side barriers included lack of knowledge about available services, physician heavy workloads, medicine stock-outs, limited availability of testing equipment, unaffordable transport costs, travelling longer distances, inefficiently longer waiting times, and delayed referral. Demand-side barriers included women having low self-awareness of NCD status, concerns about confidentiality, perceived discrimination, and poverty. Conclusions: Access to HPT and T2D services is impacted from perception of need to benefitting from care. Articles included identified barriers affecting the availability and accommodation dimension of access to care, suggesting that HPT and T2D care is often unavailable or that women are unable to reach health facilities or service providers. There is need for more and better-quality research about access to NCD health care in SA, especially among women having a disproportionately high burden of obesity, T2D, and HPT.

Cost of Traditional Herbal Medicines for Noncommunicable Diseases in Rural and Urban Communities in South Africa

ObjectivesThis study assessed traditional herbal medicine (THM) and conventional medicine (CM) utilization among participants with noncommunicable disease in South Africa. MethodsA cross-sectional study of the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological study collected data through face-to-face interviews using structured questionnaires in 2014. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate logistic regression were used to determine the effect of sociodemographic and economic factors on THM and CM use. All statistical analyses were conducted using the statistical computing and graphics language “R.” ResultsOf the total 417 randomly selected participants in this study, 85% were females, 95% with no health insurance, and 81% with monthly incomes of <2000 rand (R) ($137 equivalent) per month. Moreover, 73% spend <R100 per month (6.85 US dollar conversion) on THM compared with 46% of families spending <R100 on CM last year; 7% spent >5% of their income on THM, and 10% say they are willing to pay >R500 per year on THM to feel better. Age was significantly associated with different spending patterns after controlling for other demographic factors, given that older adults were 82% (odds ratio 0.18; 95% confidence interval 0.02-0.93) less likely to pay >R100 for THM whereas younger adults were 59% (odds ratio 0.41; 95% confidence interval 0.17-0.97) less likely to pay for CM. ConclusionsThe cost of using THM and CM largely differed by age. The economic insight into this study reveals individuals more willing to pay for THM to payors, which can ultimately clue payors into areas for medication optimization from potential drug-drug interactions and adverse events and, therefore, reduce healthcare costs.

Disability, a priority area for health research in South Africa: an analysis of the burden of disease study 2017

Purpose Disabilities are increasing globally, which is attributed to the overall ageing of populations in affluent countries. This trend may differ in low and middle-income countries. This paper assesses the change over time in Years Lived with Disability (YLD) for South Africa and how this compares to regional and global trends. Materials and methods This secondary analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 dataset describes the observed contribution of YLD to Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) per 100 000 people over the period 1990–2016, and forecast to 2030 using simple linear prediction. South African trends are compared to global and sub-Saharan African (SSA) trends to highlight the effect of HIV and policy implications. Results Globally, the contribution of YLD to DALYs has increased from ±21.7% in 1990 to ±34% by 2016, with high socio-demographic index countries having a higher contribution (49%). HIV, mental health, musculoskeletal, neurological, and sense organ disorders are the five main contributors to YLD in South Africa (54%). Removing the effects of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections on YLD, South Africa’s trend appears similar to the global trend, yet opposite to the SSA trend. Conclusion Our analysis shows there is a growing burden of disability in South Africa. Differences in trends with the regional and global patterns can be attributed to the high burden of HIV and non-communicable diseases in South Africa. Therefore, strategies are urgently needed to increase integration of disability and rehabilitation services into chronic HIV and non-communicable disease management. This calls for disability screening to identify functional limitations in routine data collection and case management. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION South Africa has experienced an increase in disability prevalence over time. This requires strengthening of services such as mental health interventions, physiotherapy, optometry, and audiology, and linking major disease clusters, such as HIV and the NCDs, to rehabilitation services. The greatest contributors towards disability adjusted life years in South Africa are currently mental disorders (13.8%), HIV and sexually transmitted infections (11.8%), musculoskeletal disorders (10.4%), neurological disorders (8.2%), and sense organ diseases (7.5%). Routine data collection and case management needs to include disability screening to identify developing functional limitations.

Lifestyle medicine: A positive approach to stemming the tide of non-communicable diseases in South Africa.

Non-communicable diseases account for most deaths globally and they are the main reason for patient consultations. Conventional medicine focuses on pharmaceutical and surgical interventions to manage these diseases. Most management protocols recognise the foundational role of lifestyle changes, but practical lifestyle medicine interventions need to become part of the medical curriculum and part of each consultation to make an impact. This article presents the rationale for the launch of the South African Lifestyle Medicine Association as an important facilitator of that process.

Ten-year risk of fatal cardiovascular disease and its association with metabolic risk factors among waste pickers in South Africa

BackgroundCardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among non-communicable diseases in South Africa. Several metabolic risk factors contribute to the development of CVD. Informal workers such as waste pickers could be unhealthy lifestyle naive, and most public health research on CVD does not include this understudied population. This study estimated the 10-year risk of fatal CVD and its association with metabolic risk factors in an understudied study population of waste pickers in Johannesburg, South Africa.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted among waste pickers in two landfill sites in Johannesburg. We used the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) risk charts to estimate the 10-year risk of fatal CVD. We then employed ordinary least squares regression to assess the association between the 10-year risk of fatal CVD with metabolic risk factors. Other variables adjusted in the regression model were HIV status, education, income, injuries from work, clinic visits in the previous 12 months, and alcohol consumption.ResultsA total of 370 waste pickers were included in this analysis, 265 (73.41%) were males. The mean age of the participants was 34 years. The majority were between the age of 20 and 39 years. More than 55% of the waste pickers did not visit a clinic in the previous 12 months, and 68.57% were smoking. The 10-year survival probability from CVD was more than 99% for both males and females. In the multivariable regression model, elevated blood glucose showed a non-significant increase in the mean percentage of 10-year risk of fatal CVD. Waste pickers who were overweight/obese, and hypertensive had high statistically significant mean percentages of the 10-year risk of fatal CVD compared to those who did not have the metabolic risk factors.ConclusionsPrevention of 10-year risk of fatal CVD in this understudied population of waste pickers should target the control of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. Health awareness and education for waste pickers will be an important step in reducing the burden of these metabolic risk factors. We further recommend that health systems should recognize waste pickers as a high-risk group and consider extensive CVDs surveillance.

A high burden of adverse life events and poor coping mechanisms experienced by urban-dwelling black South Africans

AimIn view of the current context of poverty and socio-economic inequalities and the high and rising burdens of HIV infection and non-communicable diseases in South Africa, this study aims to describe the distribution of adverse life events (ALEs) by age and gender, and examine the socio-demographic characteristics, psychosocial coping mechanisms, risky lifestyle behaviours and family burden of HIV-related ill-health associated with ALEs in 25-74-year-old black residents of Cape Town.Materials and methodsIn a random cross-sectional sample, 12 ALEs, tobacco and alcohol use, sense of coherence (SOC), locus of control (LOC) and impact of HIV in the family were determined by administered questionnaires. Data analyses included descriptive statistics adjusted for the realised sample. Multivariable linear regression models assessed the independent associations of increasing number of ALEs.ResultsAmong 1099 participants, mean lifetime score of ALE categories examined was 6.1 ±2.1 (range 0–12) with men reporting significantly higher number of events compared with women (p<0.001). The most frequent ALE was the death of a loved one (88.5%) followed by a major financial crisis (81.2%) with no trend across gender or age group. In the multivariable linear regression model, increasing ALEs were significantly associated with male gender, unemployment, having spent >50% of life in urban areas, >7 years of education, problematic alcohol use and poorer psychosocial coping mechanisms defined by low SOC and LOC. All four variables pertaining to HIV-related burden of ill-health in the family were significantly associated with increasing ALEs.ConclusionsConsidering that lower SOC and LOC and problem drinking were significantly linked to ALEs, policymakers need to formulate strategies that improve coping mechanisms and promote problem-solving behaviours, target the high burden of alcohol misuse and address unemployment.

Socio-demographic and modifiable risk factors of diabetes and hypertension among resource constrained patients from rural areas in Mdantsane Township in South Africa.

Recently, developing countries have shown a dramatic increase in non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The burden of NCDs in South Africa has increased over the past years resulting in an estimated 37% of all- cause mortality and 16% of disability-adjusted life years. Currently, diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN) are the two most prevalent NCDs associated with the rapid increase in mortality. To demonstrate the socio-demographic and modifiable risk factors of diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN) among South African adults. A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in the Cecilia Makiwane Hospital serving the residents of Mdantsane. Relevant socio-demographic data, anthropometric measurements, triplicate blood pressure, fasting blood glucose and lipogram analysis were obtained from 265 outpatients. Multivariate anlysis shows that; salt intake, smoking, elevated triglycerides and decreased high-density lipoprotein levels were significantly associated with DM with adjusted odds ratio of 0.18 (p=0.002), 0.26 (p=0.048), 2.19 (p=0.006) and 0.38 (p=0.001), respectively. Overweight and obesity were significantly associated with hypertension with odds ratio of 0.03 (p=0.01) and 0.06 (p=0.006), respectively. The burden of DM and HTN on society can be drastically reduced with simple lifestyle changes, development of preventative strategies, large-scale screening and better disease management in South Africa.

Integrating rural–urban differentials in the appraisal of prevalence and risk factors of non-communicable diseases in South Africa

Despite the increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases in South Africa, there remains a dearth of nationally representative geographic analysis of the prevalence and risk factors of these diseases. The study, therefore, examines the spatially varying prevalence and risk factors of non-communicable diseases in South Africa. Data was from the 2014 National Income Dynamics (NIDS) survey, which was conducted in 9 provinces and 52 districts of South Africa. A composite index of non-communicable diseases was generated from occurrence of different diseases. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, hotspot analysis, spatial autocorrelation, geographically weighted regression, and binary logistic regression. The results showed 57% and 43% prevalence level of non-communicable diseases in urban and rural areas respectively. In addition, there existed spatial variations in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases across the 9 provinces and 52 districts with regard to rural/urban place of residence. The socioeconomic factors, which significantly increased the odds of NCDs in both rural and urban areas, were older ages, being a female, being married, divorced, separated or divorced, higher incomes, and being non-black. Conversely, higher educational attainment and engagement in physical exercise decreased the odds of NCDs in both rural and urban areas. This study recommends among other things, awareness/sensitization activities targeted more at the females, those aged 25 + years and people with higher education on the risk factors of NCDs.

Health care providers\u2019 perspectives of diet-related non-communicable disease in South Africa

BackgroundIn South Africa, diet-related non-communicable diseases (dr-NCDs) place a significant burden on individuals, households and the health system. In this article, we investigate the experiences of eight key informants within the public sector health care system (nurse, doctor and dietician), in order to reflect on their experiences treating dr-NCDs.MethodsWe interviewed eight key informants who were central to the primary care service for at least 40,000 people living in a low-income neighbourhood of Cape Town, South Africa. In previous work, we had interviewed and conducted ethnographic research focused on dr-NCDs in the same neighbourhood. We then conducted a thematic analysis of these interviews.ResultsThe perspectives of key informants within the public sector therefore offered insights into tensions and commonalities between individual, neighbourhood and health systems perspectives. In particular, the rising prevalence of dr-NCDs alarmed providers. They identified changing diet as an important factor driving diabetes and high blood pressure in particular. Health care practitioners focused primarily on patients’ individual responsibility to eat a healthy diet and adhere to treatment. A marked lack of connection between health and social services at the local level, and a shortage of dieticians, meant that doctors provided rapid, often anecdotal dietary advice. The single dietician for the district was ill-equipped to connect dr-NCDs with the upstream determinants of health. While providers often had empathy and understanding of patients’ circumstances, their training and context had not equipped them to translate that understanding into a clinical context. Providers seemingly could not reconcile their empathy with their perception of dr-NCDs as a failure of prudence or responsibility by patients. Significant shortcomings within health systems and social services make reflexive practice very difficult.ConclusionsSupporting health care providers in understanding context, through approaches such as translational competency, while strengthening both health and social services, are vital given the high burden of NCDs in South Africa.

The opinion of KwaZulu-Natal dietitians regarding the use of a whole-foods plant-based diet in the management of non-communicable diseases

Background: International studies have highlighted the benefit of using a whole-food, plant-based diet (WFPBD) in the prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). It is imperative to gather the opinions of dietitians on this diet, in order to assess whether it is a suitable treatment option for the prevention of NCDs in South Africa. Objective: The aim was to determine whether dietitians would use a WFPBD to address NCDs, by assessing their opinions on the benefits and barriers of this diet. Methods: A cross-sectional study, using an online survey of dietitians who are practising in KwaZulu-Natal (n = 101). Results: Dietitians who work for the government were significantly more likely to have patients with NCDs referred than dietitians in private practice. The subjects reported that the training surrounding WFPBD was inadequate at university level; however, a significant sample was confident about prescribing this diet and they were interested in improving their knowledge on this topic. The strongest perceived benefits of a WFPBD were its association with improved fibre intake and the reduced consumption of saturated fats. The strongest barriers against prescribing a WFPBD were the lack of public awareness concerning the diet and personal preference for the consumption of meat and animal-sourced foods. Conclusion: Although the general opinion of a WFPBD was positive, the perceived barriers indicated suggest that this diet may be difficult to implement for the management of NCDs, particularly in the poverty-stricken areas of South Africa.

Acceptability of Mobile Health Interventions to Increase Diabetic Risk Factor Awareness Among the Commuter Population in Johannesburg: Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

BackgroundDeveloping countries are experiencing a shift from infectious diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes. Diabetes accounts for more disability-adjusted life years than any other NCD in South Africa, and research has identified a number of preventable risk factors; however, there is not enough evidence from lower resource settings as to how best to disseminate this information to the population. Today, 90% of the world’s population lives in mobile phone coverage areas, and this provides a unique opportunity to reach large populations with health information.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate how potential mobile health (mHealth) platforms should be paired with diabetes risk factor education so that at-risk communities are empowered with information to prevent and manage diabetes.MethodsA Likert-style survey was distributed to commuters in the City of Johannesburg in July 2018 that explored participants’ background characteristics as well as their knowledge and awareness surrounding diabetic risk factors (such as exercise, smoking, and hypertension) and their comfort level with various information delivery methods (such as WhatsApp, short message service, and email). The grouped variables from diabetic risk factors and information delivery methods were described with mean Likert scores and then investigated for relationships with Spearman Rho correlation coefficients.ResultsBackground characteristics revealed that the self-reported prevalence of diabetes was twice as high in this studied commuter population than the national average. WhatsApp was the most favorable mHealth information delivery method and had a moderate correlation coefficient with diet and nutrition (0.338; P<.001) as well as a weaker correlation with physical activity (0.243; P<.001). Although not as robust as the WhatsApp correlations, each of the other information delivery methods also showed weaker, yet statistically significant, relationships with one or more of the risk factors.ConclusionsThe elevated self-reported diabetes prevalence reinforces the need for diabetes risk factor education in the studied commuter population of Johannesburg. The most feasible mHealth intervention for diabetic risk factor education should focus on WhatsApp messaging while also offering content across other mHealth and traditional platforms to remove barriers to access and enhance the user experience. The content should emphasize diet and nutrition as well as physical activity while also incorporating information on secondary risk factors.