Perceived knowledge about diabetes among personnel in municipal care: a qualitative focus group interview study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the perceived knowledge of diabetes among personnel practising in municipal care. The study was conducted using a qualitative approach through focus group interviews. The study included focus group interviews on three occasions, with a total of 22 enrolled nurses (ENs). The results showed that the ENs' perceived knowledge of diabetes was not optimal. However, the study findings demonstrated that the ENs felt they had sufficient knowledge of nursing interventions, especially in the prevention of foot complications. Nevertheless, they expressed feelings of insecurity about assessing symptoms, treatment, and interventions to be taken with high or low blood glucose levels. When providing opportunities for educating ENs prior to delegating to them the task of insulin administration, the training sessions should be structured and led by a diabetes nurse with pedagogical skills. It is important that the registered nurses who teach have up‐to‐date knowledge concerning developments and research in diabetes care. The results of the study show that ENs employed within municipal health care lack knowledge regarding the care of older people with type 2 diabetes. Therefore, it is essential that ENs receive structured education and training in diabetes in order to ensure good and safe diabetes care. Copyright © 2012 FEND. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Examining perceived and actual diabetes knowledge among nurses working in a tertiary hospital

“…In a Korean study, 80% of practice nurses scored poorly on diabetes dietary questions relating to sources of carbohydrates for diabetes patients (Park et al, 2011). A qualitative study conducted in Sweden reported that none of the 22 participating enrolled nurses could distinguish the different types of diabetes or the symptoms of diabetes (Olsen, Granath, Wharén, Blom, & Leksell, 2012). Together these findings indicate that the nursing workforces internationally may experience significant knowledge deficits across many areas of diabetes care (Alotaibi, Al-Ganmi, Gholizadeh, & ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT…”

Levels and predictors of nurses’ knowledge about diabetes care and management: disparity between perceived and actual knowledge

“…Knowledge deficits in various aspects of diabetes care and management have been demonstrated for nurses working in different healthcare settings in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere [ 12 – 17 ]. For instance, a study showed that the perceived knowledge of Swedish nurses about caring for old patients with diabetes was not optimal, lacking the ability to distinguish diabetes types or symptoms [ 13 ]. In Saudi Arabia, a gap was found between the perceived and actual knowledge of diabetes among nurses in a tertiary care hospital, with mean scores being 46.9 (of a maximum of 60) for self-reported knowledge and 25.4 (of a maximum of 49 for actual knowledge about diabetes [ 16 ].…”

Factors influencing nurses’ knowledge acquisition of diabetes care and its management: A qualitative study

“…Throughout the world, nurses working in a variety of healthcare settings have been shown to have knowledge deficits in all aspects of diabetes care and its management (Alotaibi, Gholizadeh, Al‐Ganmi, & Perry, ; Gerard, Griffin, & Fitzpatrick, ; Olsen, Granath, Wharén, Blom, & Leksell, ; Yacoub et al., ). A study from Saudi Arabia found that nurses had low accuracy in relation to diet/nutrition, diabetes medications, diabetes pathology, symptoms and management (Alotaibi, Gholizadeh et al., ).…”

“…A study from Saudi Arabia found that nurses had low accuracy in relation to diet/nutrition, diabetes medications, diabetes pathology, symptoms and management (Alotaibi, Gholizadeh et al., ). They are not unique in this: A Swedish study found that enrolled nurses could not distinguish the different types of diabetes or their symptoms (Olsen et al., ), and inadequate knowledge of diabetes medications was found among nurses in the United States and Jordan (Gerard et al., ; Yacoub et al., ). Nurses indicated that knowledge deficiencies resulted from barriers preventing them achieving full understanding of diabetes.…”

“…Lack of adequate training and education related to diabetes care was highlighted by participants working in Georgia in the United States (Eaton-Spiva & Day, 2011), in Australia (Hollis, Glaister, & Lapsley, 2014) and in Hong Kong (Shiu & Wong, 2011). Lack of access to educational resources relevant to diabetes care influenced diabetes knowledge acquisition for nurses working in Mauritius, South Africa (Kassean, 2005) and Sweden (Olsen et al, 2012). Factors such as lack of diabetes nursing experience was found to affect British and Nigerian nurses' knowledge of and confidence about diabetes care and its management (Nash, 2009;Oyetunde & Famakinwa, 2014).…”