Abstract
Several studies have shown the importance of therapeutic education in the management of diabetes. Its implementation requires a prior assessment of the level of patients’ knowledge. The objective of this study was to assess the level of diabetics’ knowledge about their disease. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted between 2013 and 2015; consenting diabetics, followed for at least one year in medicine department of Souro Sanou Hospital, have been surveyed. The data were collected using a 51-item questionnaire, adapted from “Audit of Diabetes Knowledge” and administered by an interviewer. The level of knowledge was satisfactory/good if at least 80% of the set items or a topic were known. Results: A total of 268 diabetics were surveyed. Their mean age was 54.3 ± 1.4 years and the sex ratio 0.8. The majority (80.9%) lived in urban areas and half (50.4%) were uneducated. Type 2 diabetics accounted for 93.3% of the population; the average seniority was 6.0 ± 0.7 years. The level of knowledge was generally insufficient, with an average total score of 25.4 ± 1.0/51. The topics which were not well mastered related to diet (0.8%), glycated haemoglobin (4.5%), and signs of hypoglycemia (7.8%). The main relatively well-known topics related to the effect of physical exercise on glycemia = 37.7%, the effect of food on glycemia = 36.9% and glycemia target = 32.8%. Conclusion: This study revealed a lack of knowledge from diabetic patients who are followed in the medicine department of the Teaching Hospital Souro SANON (CHUSS). The implementation of a therapeutic education program for diabetics is necessary and urgent.
Highlights
The growing prevalence of diabetes raises the problem of its prevention and its adequate management
Several studies have shown the importance of therapeutic education in the management of diabetes
Type 2 diabetics accounted for 93.3% of the population; the average seniority was 6.0 ± 0.7 years
Summary
The growing prevalence of diabetes raises the problem of its prevention and its adequate management. Several studies have demonstrated a poor disease knowledge among people with diabetes in developed countries. In the Teaching Hospital of the city, the care of diabetics was done in a pavilion intended for general intern and ambulatory medicine (outpatient) by an endocrinologist and three intern doctors, helped by a polyvalent medical and paramedical staff. An evaluation of these patients in 2011-2 showed that only 37% had a satisfactory knowledge level on general questions about diabetes and that this knowledge level was decisive in their adhesion to the follow-up and implementation of annual paraclinical prescriptions [7]. This study was conducted with the aim of having a thorough educational diagnosis with a view to developing an action plan to improve the supply of therapeutic education
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