Knowledge and Attitudes About Type 2 Diabetes Among Female Nursing Students in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

We evaluated current knowledge and attitudes about type 2 diabetes among female students pursuing nursing degrees at one university in Saudi Arabia in 2018–19. The majority of the 87 respondents were aware of risk factors for type 2 diabetes, such as obesity (95 percent) and age (93 percent). Most participants were also aware that diabetes can cause complications such as blindness (88 percent), kidney disease (77 percent), and heart disease (67 percent). However, only about half believed that type 2 diabetes is a very serious disease (47 percent), and many believed that people with diabetes who do not use insulin have mild disease (61 percent) and do not need to worry about long-term complications (36 percent). Addressing these misperceptions, perhaps with education that combines the cognitive and affective domains, will prepare these rising professionals to provide better patient care in the coming years as Saudi Arabia seeks to reduce its epidemiological and economic burden from diabetes.