Knowledge and attitude about diabetes mellitus in hospitalized patients

Introduction: diabetes education aims to guide people and help to face and act actively in preventing complications that may arise with the disease. Aims: to characterize patients diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) admitted to a tertiary hospital in southern Brazil through the analysis of their knowledge and attitudes towards the disease. Methods: a cross-sectional study with 69 patients was carried out between September 2019 and January 2020. For data collection, three questionnaires were used: one on knowledge of DM (DKN-A), another on psychological attitudes about the disease (ATT-19) and a last one consisting of objective questions applied through an interview, which assesses the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of each patient. For statistical analysis, Chi-square or Fisher's exact tests were used. Results: regarding the DKN-A questionnaire, 49 patients evaluated (71%) obtained a good score (score greater than 8 points), which is associated with a good knowledge of DM. It was found that these patients underwent medical monitoring of Diabetes on a more regular basis, consulting at least three times a year (p = 0.036). Sixty-six participants (95.7%) had low scores on the ATT-19 questionnaire. Discussion: most of the patients evaluated have good knowledge about DM, however, the low score on the ATT-19 questionnaire presented by most patients indicates difficulty in coping with the disease. More regular medical monitoring of Diabetes may be associated with greater patient involvement in the treatment of the disease, as well as a greater and more frequent flow of information between doctor and patient.