Prim Care Diabetes. 2021 Jul 10:S1751-9918(21)00118-2. doi: 10.1016/j.pcd.2021.07.001. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
AIMS: To achieve better treatment decisions, type 2 diabetes patients need to be empowered also through knowledge increase. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the level of knowledge and overall perceptions of type 2 diabetes within the elderly diabetic patients before and after the National Diabetes Prevention and Care Development Programme 2010-2020.
METHODS: Diabetes knowledge test was used in two cross-sectional studies in 2011 and 2020 where the samples of type 2 diabetes patients 65+ were surveyed. Besides descriptive statistics, non-parametric tests and general linear model were used to compare the level of knowledge.
RESULTS: The comparison reveals that in the last decade the general knowledge about diabetes has not significantly changed (U = 16942, p = 0.809). The average scores in 2011 and 2020 were 7.98 ± 2.41 and 7.96 ± 2.36 respectively. The average level of knowledge has slightly worsened for patients in the age group 80+, while it remained approximately the same in the other three age groups (65-69, 70-74, 75-79).
CONCLUSIONS: Our study has shown that despite the National Diabetes Prevention and Care Development Programme the knowledge of elderly diabetic patients in Slovenia remained at the same level or worsened.
PMID:34257049 | DOI:10.1016/j.pcd.2021.07.001
