The effect of a hospital-based awareness program on the knowledge of patients with type 2 diabetes in South Egypt

Abstract

ABSTRACT Knowledge of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) may affect the disease outcome and reduce complications. Diabetes health education can improve the prognosis, cut the financial burden, and prevent complications. In this regard, this study was conducted on 294 T2D patients to evaluate their knowledge of T2D and assess the impact of a hospital-based awareness program on this knowledge. First, all patients were assessed for their knowledge of diagnosis, management, follow-up, and complications of T2D using a questionnaire and those who correctly answered ≥60% of the questions were considered of optimal knowledge. Then, a hospital-based awareness program was given to T2D patients before they were assessed again for their knowledge using the same questionnaire. The results showed that the age of T2D patients ranged between 21 and 85 years, 38.4% were men, 52.7% were illiterate, and 64.3% had a positive family history of diabetes. Using logistic regression, women (OR 6.6, 95% CI 2.7–16.4), illiteracy (OR 8.6, 95% CI 2.7–27.4), and rural residence (OR 4.1, 95% CI 1.6–10.6) were associated with suboptimal knowledge at the baseline. After the awareness program, the proportion of T2D patients with optimal knowledge of the disease diagnosis increased from 4.4% to 32%, management 29.6% to 55.8%, follow-up 45.6% to 68.4%, and complications 55.4% to 79.5%. In conclusion, T2D patients’ knowledge in South Egypt was insufficient. However, this hospital-based awareness program led to a remarkable improvement in their knowledge.