Diabetic patient's knowledge about their disease. Pedro de Bethancourt Hospital

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a condition that requires continuous patient education and adequate and individualized medical care to preventing or delaying the onset of complications. Objective: To determine the knowledge of type 2 diabetic patients about their disease, in those who attended the Pedro de Bethancourt Hospital in 2016 and 2017. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out. The patients' knowledge was determined using a validated test psychometrically appropriate for the population studied. Patients of both sexes, over 18 years of age, who attended internal medicine services were included. Knowledge was considered adequate with 60% correct answers in the test. Results: 94 patients were surveyed, according to the prevalence at the Pedro de Bethancourt Hospital. Only 31.9%, 95% CI (23.41) of the patients presented an adequate level of knowledge. Only 41% of patients knew the name of the medication they were taking, which demonstrated poor adherence. The most used medication was Metformin. The poorest knowledge was found regarding the topic of prevention, which denotes the danger they run by not knowing their disease. Conclusion: The level of knowledge in type 2 diabetic patients was poor, with the percentage in our cases being lower than in studies that used the same test in other parts of the world.