Knowledge of chronic complications of diabetes among persons living with type 2 diabetes mellitus in northern Ghana

Abstract

Introduction Diabetes mellitus is a complex disease that affects many organ systems, leading to concerns about deteriorating population health status and ever-increasing healthcare expenditure. Many people with diabetes do not achieve optimal glycaemic control and other metabolic indices, leading to a heightened risk of developing complications. Adequate knowledge of diabetes complications is a prerequisite for risk-factor reduction and prevention of the consequences of the disease. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the knowledge of chronic complications of diabetes among persons living with type 2 diabetes mellitus in northern Ghana. Method A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 320 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in northern Ghana. The consecutive sampling technique was employed to recruit participants from September to November 2018. Data analysis was performed using IBM statistical package for social science version 23. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were used. Both bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were employed to determine associations between knowledge of diabetes complications and demographic/clinical characteristics of participants, at 95% confidence interval with statistical significance at P <0.05. Results The majority of participants (54.1%) had inadequate knowledge and 45.9% had adequate knowledge of diabetes complications. The factors associated with inadequate level of knowledge were female gender [AOR = 0.29 (95%CI: 0.14–0.56), p<0.001], older age [AOR = 0.45 (95%CI:0.20–0.99), p = 0.049], primary education [AOR = 0.13 (95%CI: 0.03–0.51), p = 0.004], no formal education [AOR = 0.16 (95%CI: 0.05–0.50), p = 0.002], rural dwellers [AOR = 0.50 (95%CI: 0.27–0.95), p = 0.033] and unknown family history diabetes [AOR = 0.38 (95%CI: 0.17–0.82), p = 0.014]. Conclusion More than half of the studied population had inadequate knowledge of diabetes complications. Female gender, rural dwellers, and low education level were factors positively associated with inadequate knowledge of diabetes complications. A multisectoral approach is needed, where the government of Ghana together with other sectors of the economy such as the health, education and local government sectors work collaboratively in the development of locally tailored diabetes education programmes to promote healthy self-care behaviours relevant for the prevention of diabetes and its complications.

Knowledge About Complications of Diabetes Mellitus and its Association with Treatment Compliance Among Type 2 Diabetics Visiting a Public Sector Diabetes Clinic

“…8,9 According to a survey conducted in Northern Ghana, people with inadequate knowledge and low health literacy on diabetes complications, will likely have suboptimal glycemic control and increased risk of getting complications as they often have challenges understanding and following medical instructions. 10 In Bangladesh, the knowledge of diabetes was significantly associated with education, gender, income, and duration of diabetes. 11 A study described that there is a high prevalence of poor glycemic control and complications in patients with diabetes having insufficient knowledge of their disease and its complications.…”

Perceptions of patients on factors affecting diabetes self-management among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients in Fiji: A qualitative study

“…The findings of this study are consistent with the literature reporting lack of knowledge as one of the main barrier to diabetes self-management ( Mikhael et al., 2018 ; Waheedi et al., 2016 ; Borba et al., 2019 ; Saunders, 2019 ). Another study conducted by Afaya et al. (2020) reported that more than half of the studied population had inadequate knowledge of diabetes complications.…”

Knowledge towards diabetes and its chronic complications and associated factors among diabetes patients in University of Gondar comprehensive and specialized hospital, Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia

“…17 • Knowledge scoring: Subjects who answer a question both in the general diabetes knowledge and knowledge regarding chronic complications get one if they answer it correctly and 0 if they did not get the correct answer. [18][19][20][21] • Poor diabetes knowledge: A person who has a knowledge score of diabetes itself below the score of 13.5 is regarded to have poor diabetes knowledge. [18][19][20][21] • Good diabetes knowledge: A person who has a knowledge score of diabetes itself above the score of 13.5 is regarded to have good diabetes knowledge.…”

“…[18][19][20][21] • Poor diabetes knowledge: A person who has a knowledge score of diabetes itself below the score of 13.5 is regarded to have poor diabetes knowledge. [18][19][20][21] • Good diabetes knowledge: A person who has a knowledge score of diabetes itself above the score of 13.5 is regarded to have good diabetes knowledge. [18][19][20][21] • Poor chronic complications of diabetes knowledge: A person who has a knowledge score of diabetes itself below the score of seven is regarded to have poor chronic complications of diabetes knowledge.…”