Knowledge of Diabetic patients about Insulin injection technique.

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Most of them are due to its macro and microvascular complication. Objectives: To determine the accuracy of insulin injection technique in adult diabetic patients between age of 20 to 50 years on insulin therapy for ≥02 years. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Settings: Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad. Period: From March to August, 2016. Subjects: All diabetic patients between age 20 to 50 years and on insulin therapy for >02 years were enrolled in the current study. Material & Methods: A total of 260 diabetic patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria, visiting the emergency or medical OPD, who gave informed consent were enrolled. The patient′s knowledge was categorized as "Adequate" or "Inadequate" on the basis of his/her score. Data was entered and analyzed by using SPSS version 22 software. Results: The mean (±SD) age of all patients was 36.8 (± 8.5) years. Out of 260 patients, 150 (57.3%) patients were female and 138 (53.1%) lived in urban areas. Majority of patients, 141 (54.2%) received knowledge regarding insulin injection technique from doctors and 98(37.7%) received knowledge from family member or friend. Out of 260, 64 (24.6%) patients had adequate knowledge, while 196 (75.4%) patients had inadequate knowledge score. Conclusions: One quarter of the patients has adequate knowledge about insulin injection techniques. Based on our findings there is a need to conduct awareness campaigns at the community level to impart useful knowledge about diabetes and its various aspects like insulin injections techniques.

Expert Opinion on Addressing the Gap in Injection Technique and Needle Reuse for People with Diabetes in Indonesia

“…Study revealed that approximately 70% of the patients had insufficient awareness about injection technique. 8 Aligned with the global data, according to preliminary survey with the experts (for the survey’s method see section “Recommendations from the Advisory Board Meeting”), approximately one-third of their patients used needle more than six times and there was still <25% of their patients with adequate knowledge of injection technique. Improper injection technique and the choice of injection sites could alter insulin absorption, resulting in uncontrolled blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia/hypoglycemia), and lipohypertrophy (LH).…”

“…Education about DM has been widely recognized as an effective approach to managing and preventing the DM. 8 …”

“…24 In addition, nurses, pharmacists, and other HCPs should also be trained in order to improve the current practice of injection technique, particularly on the use of needle. 5 , 8 , 25 Based on preliminary survey of six endocrinologists in their daily practice, nurses are the primary educators for initiation and injection techniques to the patients, followed by physicians and other HCPs, with percentages of 66.7%, 16.7%, and 16.7%, respectively. Despite being the main educator for injection techniques, a study in Nepal found that nurses had insufficient knowledge and practices regarding insulin therapy, insulin storage and preparation, injection techniques, and needle reuse.…”

“…Improper injection technique and the choice of injection sites could alter insulin absorption, resulting in uncontrolled blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia/hypoglycemia), and lipohypertrophy (LH). [8][9][10] These effects can also have economic implications for the healthcare system, especially in patients with LH who often require a higher dose of insulin. 11 In fact, implementing proper injection technique has been shown to reduce daily insulin doses by approximately 20%.…”