The prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes is increasing in Africa. Darfour-Oduro and her collaborators aimed to evaluate the impact of structured and supervised physical activity on HbA1c levels among adults with Type 2 diabetes and report on the pooled prevalence of physical activity in studies conducted in Africa.

The researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis. They reviewed four online databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and CINAHL) between Oct. 12, 2024, and Dec. 23, 2024. They included observational studies as well as experimental studies conducted in Africa that reported physical activity among patients diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. For the meta-analysis, the authors included studies reporting the prevalence of physical activity and studies evaluating the impact of structured and supervised physical activity on HbA1c.

The authors found that the pooled prevalence of physical activity was 56%. They also found that structured and supervised physical activity was associated with a 1.20 reduction in HbA1c levels.

The researchers identified barriers that affect participation in physical activity, and these ranged from patient knowledge and illness-related challenges to sociocultural and structural factors. The authors also found that support from peers and health care workers can encourage greater participation in physical activities.

For Darfour-Oduro, the key takeaway from this article is that physical activity can play an important role in improving the management of Type 2 diabetes in Africa.

“These findings show that diabetes programs should promote physical activity while addressing the social, cultural and environmental barriers that prevent people from being active,” Darfour-Oduro said. “Interventions should be affordable, accessible, culturally appropriate, and integrated into routine diabetes care and community settings.”

The activities’ goals included:

• Strengthening collaboration and teamwork
• Practicing effective communication and group decision-making
• Understanding the importance of listening to and valuing everyone’s perspectives
• Reflecting on ways teams can improve their approach to working together

For the workshop, “Purposeful Playful Collaboration and Teams,” Darfour-Oduro welcomed Daniella Alonzo Lopez from Â鶹ĘÓƵ’s Center for Design Thinking to work with her students in the Global Health class.

The students were first divided into groups, and each group was asked to build the tallest tower possible using Brain Flakes toys. Before beginning, students discussed and developed a strategy for approaching the challenge and achieving their goal. After completing their towers, the students shared their experiences and discussed what worked well within their groups and what they could have improved to build a taller tower. This reflection encouraged students to look beyond the success of their final outcomes and consider how their approach, communication, and teamwork influenced the results.

Darfour-Oduro shared that the workshop was designed to prepare students for group projects in the Global Health class. For the project, each student will be assigned a country and will work in groups organized according to the World Health Organization (WHO) regions.

The workshop emphasized the importance of skills that extend beyond the classroom and into the field of global health, where addressing complex health challenges often require individuals with diverse perspectives and experiences to collaborate toward a shared goal.