DISEASE KNOWLEDGE AND SELF-CARE PRACTICES OF TYPE II DIABETIC PATIENTS AT A TERTIARY HOSPITAL IN NORTH-WESTERN NIGERIA

Abstract

Patient disease knowledge and self-care practices can significantly affect treatment outcomes in chronic disease
conditions such as diabetes. The aim of this study was to describe the disease knowledge and self-care practices of
ambulatory patients with type 2 diabetes attending the diabetic clinic at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching
Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria. An interviewer administered questionnaire was used to obtain data from 340 conveniently
sampled patients from August to November 2016. Majority of respondents were females (66.5%) and only 29.4%
had post-secondary education. Average fasting blood glucose and two hours post-prandial test values were 7.94 ±
3.12 mmol/L and 11.7 ± 3.87 mmol/L respectively. Over 70% of them were aware that diabetes was a chronic
disease and that the condition could have several complications. Up to 40% of respondents believed that diabetes
could be treated without drugs. More than half of the respondents (57.6%) had glucometers, but only 31.8% self-
monitored their blood glucose levels regularly. Many of the respondents (64.7%) reported being unable to afford
their medications despite the fact that majority of them admitted that the drugs were readily available. Less than
40% of respondents reported taking their drugs as prescribed, and up to 63.5% of the participants complemented
their diabetic drug regimen with traditional medicines. Majority of respondents had some knowledge about the
disease, even though they reported several poor self-care practices. Patient education focusing on these poor self-
care practices and areas where respondents showed knowledge gaps, in addition to other interventions that can help
reduce patients’ financial burden are recommended.