The level of knowledge and awareness of teachers in the province of Kayseri for type 1 diabetes mellitus, the adequacy of schools in diabetes mellitus management

Abstract

Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) is an important chronic health problem of childhood. Cooperation of parents and teachers is necessary in diabetes management. In our cross-sectional study, a 3-part questionnaire evaluating the educational status of teachers for T1DM was used. Questions consisting of 4 factors were asked about the level of knowledge, awareness, living with diabetes, and school life with diabetes. In scoring the answers given to the questions in the first part, each correct answer was recorded as +1 point, each incorrect answer as -1 point, and ‘I have no idea’ as 0 points. The total score ranged from -21 to +21 points. Those who scored 11 points or more were considered to have a sufficient level of knowledge and awareness about T1DM. The validity of the first part of thescale, KMO and Bartlett’s test score, was found to be 0.94. The reliability of the first part of the scale, Cronbach’s alpha value, was 0.91. The mean score of the first part of the scale was 9.3±5.1, and range was between -3 to 19 points. In our study, the number of those who scored 11 points or more in the questions measuring the level of knowledge and awareness about diabetes were 268 (46.4%). We observed that the level of knowledge and awareness about diabetes in schools in our province is not sufficient.