Impact of diabetes continuing education on health care professionals’ attitudes towards diabetes care in a Yemeni city

Ibrahim Sales,Mohammed N Al-Arifi,Syed Wajid,Salmeen D Babelghaith,Mansour A Mahmoud,Saeed Alfadly,Mohammed Saif Anaam,Weal H Mancy,Suhair S Alsaleh

doi:10.4314/tjpr.v17i1.20

Ibrahim Sales, Mohammed N Al-Arifi + Show 7 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4314/tjpr.v17i1.20

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Abstract

Purpose : To evaluate the impact of a continuing education (CE) program on the attitudes of health care professionals (HCPs) towards diabetes care in Yemen. Methods : A pre- and post-intervention study was carried out in Mukalla City, Hadramout, Yemen and was offered to all physicians, pharmacists, and nurses registered in the Health Office in the Mukalla City. The HCPs were invited to attend a CE program. All participants filled out a questionnaire before the intervention (pre-test) that measured the attitudes of the participants towards diabetes. An interventional program was given in the form of a seminar, and participants were requested to complete the same questionnaire after the seminar. Results : A total of 73 HCPs attended the CE, including 19 pharmacists (26 %), 37 physicians (50.7 %), and 17 (23.3 %) nurses. The pre- and post-intervention changes in the questionnaire responses were significant only for attitude toward the values of blood glucose levels (p = 0.009) and attitude toward autonomy of diabetes patients (p = 0.023). Conclusion : HCPs in Mukalla City have positive attitudes toward diabetes. Physicians were more aware of the sequelae of diabetes than other healthcare professional groups with nurses showing the least understanding. Therefore, more emphasis should be placed upon designing education programs for diabetes specifically tailored for nurses and pharmacists. Keywords : Diabetes, Continuing education, Attitude, Health care professionals

Highlights

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is spiraling to epidemic proportions, healthcare providers still continue to struggle with providing optimal care and education throughout the world [1,2]
The present study evaluated the changes in health care professionals (HCPs)' attitudes and found that their attitudes towards diabetes care improved after a continuing education (CE) program
In response to the statements on the need for special training, most of the HCPs already had a positive attitude before attending the CE, and their attitude improved after the CE

Summary

Introduction

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is spiraling to epidemic proportions, healthcare providers still continue to struggle with providing optimal care and education throughout the world [1,2]. Diabetes selfmanagement education (DSME) is fundamental to inform, motivate, and support healthcare professionals (HCP), as well as to help patients live with their chronic condition [3]. Previous studies [5] reported that deficiencies in knowledge about the pathophysiology and symptoms of the disease create difficulties for disease state management. These barriers can be connected to factors exclusive to both patients and the health system. This indicates the need for HCPs to reevaluate and/or restructure treatment approaches for patients with diabetes in light of both biological and social factors and existing resources. Research has shown that knowledge alone does not guarantee a change in the behavior of either patients or healthcare providers [6,7,8,9,10]

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