Appraising of Plausible Factors, knowledge, Attitudes and Practice among Diabetes Patients: Hospital-Based Study in Tabuk City, Saudi Arabia

Background: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a major global health problem with individual, social and economical consequences. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus in Saudi Arabia is very high (23.9%) and ranked seventh among the top 10 countries around the word. Plausible reasons for the steady increase in the prevalence of DM in many countries may include poor lifestyle, rapid westernization, lack of knowledge and unsatisfactory attitude and practices towards DM among the general population and diabetic patients. Therefore, Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice (KAP) studies are effective in providing baseline data for evaluating intervention programs and improving the service quality.Objectives: The specific objectives were to describe the general characteristics of diabetic patients; to determine the degrees of knowledge, attitudes and practice of diabetic patients regarding the pertinent preventive issues; and to examine the interrelated plausible factors of inadequate DM management.Materials and Methods: The clinical epidemiological approach was selected as a suitable investigation strategy in which a cross-sectional analytic research design has been adopted to examine the current diabetic health problem. The systematic stage random sampling technique was applied to recruit a sample size of 5% diabetic patients (102) from the diabetic center in King Khalid hospital. An interviewing questionnaire was constructed covered the pertinent dependent (knowledge, attitudes and practice) and independent (age, sex, occupation, education, income, marital status and type of diabetes) variables. The questionnaire has been tested and proved valid and reliable during the preparatory research phase. Data have been managed using SPSS v.22.Results: The mean age of the studied diabetic patients was 37.47±14.25 years. The sex distribution was 39.20% (males) and 59.80% females. Most of the studied patients (61.80%) had inadequate knowledge about DM, while, positive attitudes (94.90%) and sound practice (80.40%) were satisfactory. Significant plausible factors have been adequately described and analyzed.Conclusions: Addressing the importance of diabetic knowledge and relevant plausible factors such as poor self-management, lack of motivation, inadequate social support are necessary for sustained life style modification behavior. A patient/self-empowerment approach to diabetes care may enhance the efficiency of DM prevention and control programs.Reference: 1. International Diabetic Federation (IDF), Diabetes Atlas Sixth edition, 2014.