An investigation into diabetic patients’ knowl-edge of diabetes and its ocular complications in the Western Cape

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of a study which evaluated the knowledge of a sample of diabetic patients about their disease and its ocular complications. A comprehensive ques-tionnaire was provided to diabetic patients in the Cape Town metropolitan district and its surrounds. Specifically, the questionnaire aimed to determine the patient’s knowledge of diabetes, their knowledge of the ocular complications of diabetes, the options for its management and treatment as well as a section considering other general information relat-ing to diabetes and its ocular complications. Their subject knowledge about diabetes and its ocular complications was relatively limited as only 42% of respondents knew about the exis-tence of two types of diabetes. Twenty nine percent of respondents believed that diabetes would not affect their eyes. Although 76% of the patients felt it very important to measure their blood sugar and 80% rated blood sugar control as very important, only 37% of the respondents measured their blood sugar on a daily basis. A particular concern was that although 96% of the respondents felt that it was important to have their eyes checked regu-larly, only 30% of the respondents stated that they had actually had their eyes checked every year. The results of this investigation support the need for diabetic patients to receive better patient education about diabetes and its ocular complications. Furthermore, attention needs to be paid to expanding patient access to diabetic screenings and ocular examinations in order to manage this condition effectively.

Keywords

• Community health centres, blood sugar, dia-betes mellitus, diabetes education, diabetic reti-nopathy, diet, health care worker, insulin, ocular complications of diabetes