Knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding diabetic mellitus among a sample of students at technical institute of Karbala

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a life-threatening disease whose complications can cause heart attack or stroke, blindness, and kidney failure. Objective: The main objective of this study was to determine knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding DM among a sample of students at the Technical Institute of Karbala. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Al-Furat A-Awsat Technical University, Technical Institute of Karbala, Iraq. A total of 856 students were included in this study. Data were collected by direct interview with students using a questionnaire form. Results: Total sample in this study was 856 students (52.3% male and 47.7% female), 58 DM (Type II) patients were included in this study. The mean age of the study population was 20.86 ± 1.58 years (range of 17–25 years). The majority of students (48.8%) were in the age group of (≤20 years). The most of the respondents were single and lived in urban areas as represent 87.4% and 75.9%, respectively. Nearly 60% of cases had good and acceptable knowledge scores, while 50% had good and acceptable scores for attitude and practice regarding DM. Conclusion: The overall scores were good and acceptable regarding knowledge, attitude, and practice. A better educational program on diabetes should be conducted to improve awareness, attitude, and practice toward DM using mass media and health education in all Ministries.

Keywords

• Attitude
• diabetes mellitus
• knowledge
• practices
• Technical Institute of Karbala