TO STUDY THE GENERAL AWARENESS ABOUT DIABETES IN DIABETIC PATIENT IN KOTA REGION

Dr. Bheru lal Jatiya; Dr. Sushil Kumar; Dr. C.P. Meena

Volume : IX, Issue : VII, July - 2020

TO STUDY THE GENERAL AWARENESS ABOUT DIABETES IN DIABETIC PATIENT IN KOTA REGION

Dr. Bheru Lal Jatiya, Dr. Sushil Kumar, Dr. C. P. Meena

Abstract :

Background Awareness of various aspects of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is essential for the prevention, management and control of the disease. However, several studies have consistently shown that awareness of DM in the general population is low. In this paper, we assessed the awareness of DM among diabetic patients attending the Medical Out-Patient Department (MOPD) of MBS hospital, Govt medical college, kota. Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the general knowledge of diabetes mellitus in patients diagnosed with DM in hadoti region� Methods We interviewed 200 patients attending the MOPD of GMC kota. We used a tool containing questions on patient�s demographic characteristics and awareness of various aspects of DM including general knowledge on DM, causes, complications, management and prevention. Results Of the 199 patients who were aware of their condition, only 47% said they knew what DM is. Similarly, 53% of the study participants had no knowledge of the causes of DM and about 50% were not aware of the methods of prevention. 67% knew that DM can result to loss of sight while 46.5% knew that DM can cause poor wound healing. Few respondents knew that DM can lead to kidney failure (13.5%), skin sepsis (12.0%), heart failure (5.5%) and stroke (4.5%). Close to 50% of the respondent did not know how DM can be prevented. Level of education, duration of illness and knowledge of a family member with diabetes were important predictors of knowledge in our study. Conclusion Our study shows that the majority of patients attending the MOPD have poor knowledge on several aspects of DM. Hence, there is need for conscious efforts towards improving the level of awareness through health education and promotion, not limited to the hospital but also within the general population, as part of strategies to prevent, manage and control DM.