influnence of gender and level of education on the knowlege of adult diabetics on disease related issue and patients self care: the Abu Dhabi experience

ABSTRACT

To evaluate the basic knowledge of our adult patients with diabetes mellitus [DM] on disease-related issues and selfcare based on the level of education and gender. The General Medical and Endocrinology outpatient clinics in a referral general hospital in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of United Arab Emirates [UAE]. Over a 10 'week period, we randomly selected 219 adults with DM who have been attending these two clinics and divided them into two groups as educated or uneducated subjects, and also on their gender. All, then were invited to answer an 8-item questionnaire on various diabetes 'related issues, attitude and self-care. 127 [58%] were uneducated and female gender predominated [59%]. Greater number of educated patients were familiar with self monitoring blood glucose [SMBG] [p=0.001], and self-injection of insulin [p=0.04] than the uneducated. Interestingly however, 25.5% of educated patients believed in the superiority of herbal medicine over the conventional hypoglycemic agents as compared to the uneducated [10%, p=0.01]. Nearly 30% of all patients believed in honey as a useful remedy for DM regardless of their level of education. The females were marginally more aware of the hypoglycemic symptoms than their male counterparts [65% vs.52% respectively, p=0.047]. Based on the above parameters, the overall modest outcome of our study indicates the need for intensifying patient's education to all, irrespective of the gender, with special attention given to the uneducated subjects. Efforts should also be made to dismiss therapeutic misconception as well