Diabetes Self-Care Knowledge And Adherence To Self-Care Practices Among Patients Attending The Diabetic Clinic Of A Tertiary Care Hospital

Objectives: To assess the self-care knowledge and adherence to self-care practices among diabetic patients attending Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi, and their association with demographic characteristics.Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional studyPlace and Duration of Study: Diabetic Clinic of Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi from 1st May 2019 to 31st December 2019.Methodology: The Diabetes Self-care Knowledge Questionnaire (DSCKQ-30) was used to evaluate the variables under study. Socio-demographic information was also collected. A total of 380 patients were interviewed. Diabetic patients aged greater than 18 years and those taking anti-diabetic medication for at least one month before the study were included. Pregnant women, those newly diagnosed (less than one month), or yet to be placed on medication, were excluded.Results: The majority of the study sample i.e., 212 (55.8%) patients had a high (>70%) overall knowledge level about self-care while 168 (44.2%) showed low (<70%) overall knowledge. It was found that self-care knowledge was predicted by age (p<0.001), monthly income (p<0.001), education (p<0.002), duration of diabetes (p<0.006), and by the presence of friends and relatives with diabetes (p<0.05).Conclusion: Diabetes self-care knowledge was generally high among the population studied. However, adherence to self-care practices was low. Thus, the doctor should briefly cover the essential aspects of diabetes mellitus to maintain adherence to self-care practices among patients.