H L Wee1, H K Ho, S C Li. 1. Department of Pharmacy, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Much effort has been devoted to educating the public about diabetes. However, the impact of such efforts has yet to be formally evaluated. OBJECTIVES: To identify areas of knowledge that might require additional educational efforts. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional survey was conducted to evaluate the general public's knowledge of diabetes. The respondents were required to answer 45 questions from a pre-tested questionnaire divided into five main sections, namely, general knowledge, risk factors, symptoms and complications, treatment and management, monitoring and other miscellaneous questions. A point was awarded for each correct response and zero for wrong or unsure responses. The maximum total score was 41. The miscellaneous questions were not scored. RESULTS: A total of 1337 subjects were interviewed. The mean score obtained by the respondents was 66.1% of the maximum possible total score (i.e. 27.1 points out of 41). The "correct answer" percentages for the individual questions from each section ranges from 22 to 83% (General knowledge), 31 to 91% (Risk factors), 48 to 81% (Symptoms and complications), 35 to 87% (Treatment and management), and 58 to 93% (Monitoring of condition).With respect to the source of medical information, health care professionals did not feature prominently (20.7%). CONCLUSION: The public as represented by the samples in this survey is generally well informed about diabetes except for a few areas. Analysis of these areas would have a significant implication for future public education programme. Health care professionals should be more proactive in disseminating health information about diabetes to the public.
INTRODUCTION: Much effort has been devoted to educating the public about diabetes. However, the impact of such efforts has yet to be formally evaluated. OBJECTIVES: To identify areas of knowledge that might require additional educational efforts. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional survey was conducted to evaluate the general public's knowledge of diabetes. The respondents were required to answer 45 questions from a pre-tested questionnaire divided into five main sections, namely, general knowledge, risk factors, symptoms and complications, treatment and management, monitoring and other miscellaneous questions. A point was awarded for each correct response and zero for wrong or unsure responses. The maximum total score was 41. The miscellaneous questions were not scored. RESULTS: A total of 1337 subjects were interviewed. The mean score obtained by the respondents was 66.1% of the maximum possible total score (i.e. 27.1 points out of 41). The "correct answer" percentages for the individual questions from each section ranges from 22 to 83% (General knowledge), 31 to 91% (Risk factors), 48 to 81% (Symptoms and complications), 35 to 87% (Treatment and management), and 58 to 93% (Monitoring of condition).With respect to the source of medical information, health care professionals did not feature prominently (20.7%). CONCLUSION: The public as represented by the samples in this survey is generally well informed about diabetes except for a few areas. Analysis of these areas would have a significant implication for future public education programme. Health care professionals should be more proactive in disseminating health information about diabetes to the public.
Authors: Mythily Subramaniam; Edimansyah Abdin; S Bhuvaneswari; P V AshaRani; Fiona Devi; Kumarasan Roystonn; Peizhi Wang; Ellaisha Samari; Saleha Shafie; Janhavi Ajit Vaingankar; Rob M van Dam; Eng Sing Lee; Chee Fang Sum; Siow Ann Chong Journal: Front Psychol Date: 2021-07-09