A Cross Sectional Study on Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Subjects about Diabetes

Background: Strategies to improve awareness about diabetes and translation of preventive measures by innovative programmes have to be implemented at national levels to decrease the morbidity rate. Aim and Objectives: To study the baseline level of knowledge, attitude and practice among five hundred subjects with Type 2 diabetes mellitus about diabetes mellitus. Material and Methods: Five hundred Type 2 diabetes subjects from five diabetes specialty clinics were selected for Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) survey. Based on their baseline blood parameters and their willingness to participate, data was elicited using a checklist to study their knowledge, attitude and practice. Results: Majority (66.8%) of the subjects in the study were of normal weight. Only 3% of the subjects got a perfect score of 10 while among the remaining 97% subjects, the majority (80%) scored from 7 to 9. There was no significant difference in the mean scores of KAP, between the male and female subjects. There was a significant difference between duration and knowledge of diabetes at 5% level and a significant difference (p-value = 0.004) in knowledge score when compared with attitude and practice score of the diabetes subjects. Conclusion: There is a need to strengthen the health care system to generate awareness, to enable early detection, and to provide standard and uniform care, and rehabilitation for people with Type 2 diabetes mellitus to manage diabetes and delay the onset of complications.