The attitude and basic knowledge of insulin pump therapy among healthcare providers.

Abstract

Purpose: Lack of basic knowledge and ineffective counselling on insulin pumps among healthcare providers could contribute to the inappropriate use of insulin pumps. The aim of this study is to assess the attitude and basic knowledge of insulin pump therapy among health care providers. Method: Cross-sectional study using a developed validated questionnaire was conducted among 81 healthcare providers to assess the knowledge and attitudes toward the use of insulin pump. Result: Almost 73% (n=60) of participants believe that knowing the basic information and understanding the primary principles of insulin pump therapy is very important, 50.7% (n=41) believes that insulin pump therapy promotes patient emotionally and psychologically and is able to improve the management of uncontrolled blood glucose, and 64.2% (n=52) assumes that the cost of insulin pump therapy was seen as one of the major barriers of using the pump from the healthcare providers’ point of view. The majority of responses (80%; n=65) did not know the basic components of insulin pump and 79% (n=64) did not know that insulin pump can be loaded with insulin by the patients themselves based on their need. Conclusion: Lack of knowledge among most healthcare providers towards using insulin pumps was noticeable, and therefore; educational programs, professional seminars, and continuous professional educational hours about the basic knowledge and primary principles of insulin pump therapy are needed for all healthcare providers.