Dinesh K Upadhyay, Mohamed Izham M., Vijay. M Alurkar , Pranaya Mishra, Subish Palaian
Objective: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by an increased blood glucose level than the normal. High prevalence of diabetes on the recent past has been attributed to sedentary life style, urbanization, lack of knowledge, low literacy rate and poor socio-economic status. Diabetes affects patient’s quality of life and lead to increase morbidity and mortality. Diabetes cases are found much in Nepal due to lack of public awareness and knowledge regarding diabetes and poor medical facilities. The present study assessed the demographic details of diabetes patients enrolled in the study, and their Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) about diabetes.
Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted at Manipal Teaching Hospital, Pokhara, Nepal. Total 162 newly diagnosed diabetes patients were enrolled and their demographic details were noted in a pre-tested sociodemography form. Enrolled patients were then evaluated for their knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) about diabetes by using a KAP questionnaire during their first day visit to the hospital. In case of knowledge question, each ‘correct’ answer was scored as one (1) and as zero (0) for ‘incorrect’ answer. In case of attitude and practice questions, scoring was done on the basis of 5 point and 3 point Likert scales, respectively.
Results: Of the total of 162 patients, males were 106 (65.43%) and the common age group of patients was between 41 to 60 years (59.26 %; n=96 patients). The mean ± sd age of the patients was 49.14 ± 12.50 years. The median interquartile range (IQR) scores were [3(2-7)] for knowledge, attitude [12(11-13)] and practice [1(0-2)]. The maximum possible scores for knowledge, attitude and practice questions are 18, 20 and 14, respectively.
Conclusion: Male patients were high in number in the study. Prevalence rate was higher between the age group of 41 to 60 years. The present study findings suggested a low median score for knowledge, attitude and practice of diabetes patients and emphasized the need of additional and systematic educational program for diabetes patients.
