Knowledge about diabetes mellitus of patients treated at interdisciplinary ambulatory program of a public university hospital

Abstract

As diabetes mellitus (DM) is a disease that needs changes that last a life time, an educational action is necessary to instruct and make the diabetic aware of the importance of his/her knowledge about the disease as an integral part of the care. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the knowledge acquired by the diabetic treated at an interdisciplinary ambulatory about themes related to DM and compare these results with those obtained in a study with the same purpose carried out in 1995 when discouraging results were obtained, leading to a methodological alteration of the educational activity. This is a descriptive study in the qualitative approach carried out with patients treated at an interdisciplinary ambulatory of a public university hospital. The subjects that took part in this study were ten diabetic selected by asystematic sampling. Data were obtained by means of an audio-taped semi-structured interview. The interview questions consisted of themes concerning knowledge acquired about the DM, medication therapy, nutrition, self-monitoring, physical activity and body care. The interviewees showed good knowledge of diabetes mellitus, medication therapy, nutrition and the importance of physical activity. Self-monitoring was mentioned as necessary for the glycemic control and insulin scheme readjustment. Feet care was the most mentioned activity regarding body care. Knowledge about the questioned theme was greater than that of the study carried out previously. It was concluded that, after the educational activity alteration, patients became more aware about their disease, highlighting the importance of health education for the DM control.