Knowledge, attitude, and practice towards self-management among diabetic patients at Debre Tabor General Hospital chronic diseases follow-up clinic, Northwest Ethiopia

Introduction Self-management in diabetic patients is vital to keep the illness under control and avert any long term complications. Effective management of diabetes is a difficult task without an adequate understanding of the existing level of knowledge, attitude, and practice related to self-management. Knowing the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice towards self-management may help to provide information for health policy-makers to design and implement effective interventions to reduce diabetes-related morbidity and mortality. Objective To assess the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice towards self-management among patients with diabetes at Debre Tabor General Hospital chronic diseases follow up clinic. Methods An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from February to March 2016. A systematic random sampling technique was employed to select 206 patients. A structured pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. The data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results More than half of the study participants 114 (55.3%) had poor knowledge about diabetic self-management. Poor attitude of diabetic self-management was detected among 109 (52.9%) of studied patients. Nearly two-thirds 136 (66.0%) of the study participants had poor practice towards self-management. Conclusion More than half of the participants had poor knowledge and attitude towards self-management and nearly two-thirds of them had poor practice. It is better to emphasize the importance of the patient as the key person in diabetic management.

Automated summary

The study aimed to assess the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice towards self-management among patients with diabetes at Debre Tabor General Hospital chronic diseases follow up clinic. The results showed that more than half of the participants had poor knowledge and attitude towards self-management, and nearly two-thirds of them had poor practice.