A Descriptive Study to Assess the Knowledge of Diabetes Patients Regarding Diabetes Mellitus in Selected Hospitals of Hoshiarpur, Punjab

Introduction

Diabetes mellitus is sometimes referred to as “high sugar” by both the clients and healthcare providers.¹ Diabetes mellitus is a condition where the body cannot produce enough insulin hormone. According to WHO guidelines, the normal sugar levels for a person are 60-100 mg/dL² . Diabetes is basically of two types - Insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), and Non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). NIDDM can account for 80% of all the diabetes cases. It is more prominent in adults and older people. Generally, type 2 diabetes mellitus progresses very slowly. In fact, the exact causes of diabetes is not known yet. Apart from that, there are other factors which increase the chance of diabetes such as age, race, environmental factors, obesity, family history.³ The symptoms of diabetes mellitus are polydipsia, polyphagia, polyuria, blurred vision, dizziness, extreme tiredness, genital itching, nausea and vomiting, slow healing of wound and many more.⁴ Fasting blood glucose, random blood glucose tests, HbA1c test, Glouces tolerance tests are performed to confirm the diagnosis of diabetes.⁵ Treatment of diabetes mellitus includes dietary management, regular physical activity, and pharmacological management. There are various oral anti-diabetic drugs which can help to reduce blood glucose levels such as sulfonylurea, biguanides, meglitinides etc. There are some portable pumps for the continuous administration of regular insulin and yoga is also ideally suited for the control of diabetes mellitus.⁶

Objectives of the Study

The objectives of the study were: 

• To assess the knowledge levels of patients regarding diabetes mellitus. 
•  To determine the association between knowledge of diabetes patients regarding diabetes mellitus and the selected demographic variables. 

Research hypothesis

H1 - There will be a significant association between knowledge of diabetes patients regarding diabetes mellitus and the selected demographic variables.

Materials and Methods 

In this present study, the researchers aimed at assessing the knowledge of the diabetes patients regarding diabetes mellitus and to determine the association between knowledge of diabetes patients regarding diabetes mellitus and the selected demographic variables. Descriptive design was used in this study. Non probability convenient sampling technique was used to select 30 subjects. Two tools were used to collect relevant data which included a demographic proforma regarding details such as age, sex, family income, occupational status, marital status, dietary pattern, educational status and duration of diabetes mellitus and a structured knowledge questionnaire on diabetes mellitus. It consisted of 21 items. Each correct answer was given a score of one and for wrong answer a score of zero. The minimum score was 0 and maximum score was 21. On the basis of scoring, the knowledge levels were classified as Poor knowledge 0-7, Average knowledge 8-14, Good knowledge 15-21. Reliability was estimated using split half method. The reliability obtained was r=0.74. Written permission from the concerned hospital authorities was obtained prior to the study.

Results 

Table 1 shows that majority of the diabetes patients 15 (50%) belonged to 51 – 60 years age group, 10 (33.3%) of the diabetes patients belonged to 41-50 years age group and 5 (16.6%) of the diabetes patients belonged to 30-40 years age group. Majority 17 (56.6%) of the diabetic patients included in the study were males, whereas females were 13 (43.3%). As per family income per month, majority 14 (46.6%) of the diabetes patients’ income ranged between Rs 10000- 20000, whereas 10 (33.3%) of them had a family income of less than Rs 10000. Five (16.6%) of the included patients had a family income of Rs 21000 - 30000/- and only one (3.3%) patient had a family income above Rs 30000. Majority 13 (43.3%) of the diabetic patients were Government workers, five (16.6%) were industrial workers, five (16.6%) were unskilled workers, four (13.3%) patients were skilled workers and remaining three (10%) were semi-skilled workers. Twenty four (80%) diabetes patients were married, two (6.6%) were unmarried patients, while three (10%) were widows and one (3%) was a widower. As per the dietary pattern, 13 (43.3%) were non-vegetarians, 12 (40%) were vegetarians and 5 (16.6%) were in the mixed category. Eleven (36.6%) diabetic patients had education up to secondary school, whereas five (16.6%) had informal education, four (13.3%) had primary education, five (16.6%) were graduates and five (16.6%) completed post-graduation. Seventeen (56.6%) of the patients were diagnosed with diabetes since < 2 years, 11 (36.6%) patients were diagnosed with diabetes from 2 to 4 years and two (6.6%) patients were diagnosed with diabetes for > 4 years.

Table 2 shows that knowledge of four (13.33%) diabetic patients was poor, 26 (86.66%) patients exhibited average knowledge and none of the patients had good knowledge on diabetes mellitus.

In order to find the association between knowledge scores among diabetes patients and the selected demographic variables, the following research hypothesis was tested.

H1 - There will be a significant association between knowledge of diabetes patients regarding diabetes mellitus and selected demographic variables of the study. 

The Chi square test of association between knowledge score and age in years (χ2 =0.0102, p value 0.9195), sex (χ2=0.0360, p value 0.8495), Monthly income (χ2=0.0358, p value 0.8499), Occupational status (χ2 = 0.1506, p value 0.6979), Marital status (χ2 = 1.240, p value 0.2654), Dietary pattern (χ2 = 1.20, p value 0.2733), Educational status (χ2 = 0.3349, p value 0.5629), Duration of diabetes mellitus (χ2 = 0.1640, p value 0.6855). Hence, the research hypothesis was rejected at 0.05 level of significance. None of the demographic variables were found to be associated with knowledge regarding diabetes mellitus.

Discussion

The aim of the present study was to assess the knowledge of patients with diabetes mellitus regarding the disease and to determine the association between knowledge of diabetes patients regarding diabetes mellitus and the selected demographic variables. The study results revealed that knowledge of four (13.33%) diabetic patients was poor, 26 (86.66%) patients had average knowledge and none of the patients had good knowledge regarding diabetes mellitus. None of the demographic variables of the diabetes patients were found to be associated with the knowledge regarding diabetes mellitus.

Conclusion

Nurses are the primary caregivers and are concerned with providing holistic care with an emphasis on patient care. The studies and their nature will help nurse educators in planning awareness camps as well as community programmes. As an administrator role in planning and policy making for imparting health information to the target population.