Illness knowledge of type 2 diabetes patients: the Hungarian validation of Diabetes Knowledge Test

Abstract

According to the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, more than 1 million diabetic patients live in Hungary. It is essential to enhance and sustain the knowledge, skills and self-efficacy of patients. The most widely used measurement of illness knowledge is the 23-item Michigan Diabetes Knowledge Test (DKT). Its first 14 items measure general knowledge: the nutritional value of food, and causes of change in blood glucose level. Its further 9 items are about insulin usage. To examine the reliability and the validity of the Hungarian version of DKT2 as well as its association with sociodemographic and illness-related variables. In our cross-sectional quantitative study, 129 patients (84 women, mean age: 59.67; SD = 12.6) diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus using insulin therapy filled in a questionnaire online. The α coefficient for the test is 0.603, which is acceptable. The mean of the correct answer rate is 81.66%, which resembles the American results, but it is higher than that of other specific groups. Problem areas for our patients included interpreting ketoacidosis, the nutritional value of foods and the effect of foods on blood glucose level. The score of the Hungarian test - in accordance with the literature - correlates negatively with age, positively with the year of insulin-usage and with the number of daily insulin intake and of blood glucose measurement. Illness knowledge was independently predicted only by the number of daily blood glucose measurement. The convergent validity of the Hungarian test is supported by its weak but significant association with Brief Health Literacy Screen questions. The Hungarian DKT2 properly measures the illness knowledge of diabetic patients. Their high level of knowledge can be traced back to the speciality of the subjects as well as to the overall education of insulin users. Nevertheless, our results draw attention to the necessity of enhancing the level of dietetic knowledge of patients. Orv Hetil. 2020; 162(22): 870-877.