Assessment of Diabetes Self-Care Knowledge and Satisfaction with Care among Type 2 Diabetes Patients-A Case Study

Abstract

Many persons with diabetes are not achieving treatment goals due to inadequate knowledge and poor self-management skills. Assessment of diabetes patients' knowledge and self-care skills could help design strategies to improve treatment outcomes. The study was aimed at assessing the dietary and self-care knowledge of patients with type 2 diabetes and determining the level of satisfaction with the care offered. 130 patients with type 2 diabetes were consecutively recruited from the outpatient and medical wards. Knowledge of self-care and patient satisfaction were assessed using a 42-item validated pretested questionnaire and an 8-item patient satisfaction questionnaire respectively. Data analysis was done with the aid of Spss V 16 and Graph pad InStat V2.05. Factor analysis was performed to determine appropriate components of patient satisfaction. The level of significance was set at p<0.05. More than one quarter, 47(36.2%) were on insulin. More than half 82(63.1%) were non-compliant with dietary recommendations. Knowledge of self-care was low (Mean total score 33.3%) Only 48 (36.9%) could correctly recognize symptoms of hypoglycemia. Only 51(39.2%) were capable of taking the right action in situations where they were too unwell to eat. The majority, 126(96.9%) were unaware that foot examination was an important component of diabetic care. Patient satisfaction with care was high (mean 3.81, range 1-5) although there may be a need for improvement in the therapy management dimension.