CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THERAPEUTICAL EDUCATION AND SELF-MONITORING OF BLOOD GLUCOSE

Abstract

Self-monitoring of blood glucose is particularly important for its correlation with the value of glycated hemoglobin (Hb A1c) in order to prevent the development of complications of diabetes. Purpose. A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between the level of self-monitoring blood glucose knowledge and the frequency of its determination. Material and method. We conducted a study in a sample of 150 patients, which consisted in applying three questionnaires. The aim was to obtain information on the frequency of blood glucose testing, the barriers and the level of education on the use of the glucometer and the interpretation of the resulting data. Results and discussion. All patients tested their blood glucose themselfs. Most patients declared they tested it once a day (58%) or before each meal. We noticed significant correlations of the total score obtained in the knowledge questionnaire and the level of barriers to testing (p = 0.037), as well as the frequency of blood glucose determinations (p = 0.046). Conclusions. The level of knowledge about the necessity of blood glucose determination, its technique, and the interpretation of the data obtained positively correlated with the frequency of self-monitoring.

Keywords

• self-monitoring blood glucose
• therapeutical education
• diabetes