An assessment of knowledge and self care practices among diabetics in an Urban area

Abstract

Background: One in three people in India suffer from diabetes and this number is rising due to an epidemiological transition. An understanding of the impact of knowledge and self care practices is crucial to assuage the outcome of the condition. Objectives: To evaluate socio-demographic, clinical characteristics and knowledge among diabetic patients and To assess the self care practices pertaining to diabetes among them Materials and Methods: A cross sectional, hospital based study was conducted among patients attending the outpatient department in a tertiary teaching hospital through systemic random sampling. Informed consent was obtained and responses were obtained through a face to face interview regarding socio-demographic, clinical characteristics, knowledge regarding diabetes and self care practices. Statistical measures obtained included means, standard deviation, percentages and proportions. Results: A total of 150 patients consented and participated in the current study. 80 (53.3%) were male and 70 (46.7%) were female. Most of the respondents were aged between 40 – 50 years, with 72 (48%) of the respondents belonging to that particular age group. The mean duration of time since diagnosis of diabetes was 8.05 ± 5.84 years. Knowledge regarding diabetes was lacking with less than a third of the sample being able to identify the type of diabetes and the type they were suffering from. Self care practices were relatively more satisfactory than domains of knowledge. Conclusions: A lack of knowledge accompanied by satisfactory self care practices may indicate a lack of sustainability and warrants further study and evaluation. Adequate knowledge and an informed patient is the key to managing this accelerating prevalence of diabetes.

Keywords

• diabetes
• self care practices
• knowledge