Knowledge of diabetes among patients in the United Arab Emirates and trends since 2001: a study using the Michigan Diabetes Knowledge Test

Knowledge of diabetes among patients with the disease in the United Arab Emirates is essential for effective self-management. We assessed the level of diabetes-related knowledge among patients and compared it with that found in previous studies in the same city. A cross-sectional study, using an interviewer-administered questionnaire, was conducted at two clinics in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. The Michigan Diabetes Knowledge Test, translated into Arabic, was used to assess knowledge of diabetes. Of 165 participants with diabetes, 130 [78.8%] were women. The mean knowledge score was low at 55% [6.6 out of a maximum possible score of 12, standard deviation 1.8]. This is comparable to levels found in previous studies: 55.5% in 2001 and 68.2% in 2006. Misconceptions about the diabetic diet and blood testing were common. The level of diabetes-related knowledge has remained low since 2001. These results are of concern in view of the substantial investments made in diabetes care and health education in the region

Training in reference management software: a part of new medical informatics workshops in Pakistan

Researchers in Pakistan can increase writing productivity, reduce errors in manuscripts and improve quality of their papers by hands-on workshops on bibliographic reference software. A workshop was conducted in an interactive tutorial format using an overhead projector to show screenshots of software at each step. Our Workshop included:1 starting the Endnote program [www.endnote.com];[2] manually entering a reference of a journal article[3] searching and importing references from PubMed[3] inserting a reference in Microsoft Word document in a journal-specific format;[4] essentials of journal article formatting; and[5] the ethics of respecting other peoples of intellectual effort by proper citations and avoiding plagiarism. A post-workshop test was administered to assess whether instructional objectives were attained. All the participants passed the post-workshop multiple choice questions and 85% rated the workshop as good, very good or excellent. A workshop on reference formatting in research writing is useful to promote high quality research work. We recommend holding workshops twice a year on research article formatting and reference software at medical colleges in Pakistan and other developing countries