Assessment of inpatient diabetes knowledge among healthcare professionals in a district general hospital

Abstract

AimsDiabetes mellitus is a commonly encountered diagnosis in hospitalised patients that is associated with prolonged admissions and mortality. One in six hospital beds in the UK are occupied by diabetes patients. Therefore, healthcare providers need to have a sound knowledge in managing in-patients with diabetes. Thus the aim of this clinical survey was to assess the diabetes-related knowledge of healthcare professionals in a district general hospital. MethodsA 24-item questionnaire, based on the ‘Think Check Act (TCA)’ diabetes modules implemented by the Healthcare Improvement Scotland was issued to the medical and nursing staff. Simple statistics were used for data collation and analysis. Results30 questionnaires were completed by 10 doctors at varying stages of training, 17 nurses, 1 physician associate and 2 healthcare assistants. The mean percentage score of the participants were 57.4%. 22 (73.3%) correctly defined hypoglycaemia and 27 (90%) knew the location of hypo box and 7 (23.3%) were aware of TCA. Responses to other management related to diabetes emergencies were average. The responses between doctors and nurses were insignificant except for hypo box location (p = 0.0413). ConclusionKnowledge about managing inpatient diabetes problems amongst healthcare professional at a district general hospital appears mediocre. Significant gaps have been identified which would be targeted for future educational events.