Knowledge of diabetes and insulin and its impact on hesitation to insulin use among patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus from different healthcare facilities: A multi-center cross-sectional study from Pakistan
Abstract
Objective: To determine the Knowledge of Diabetes (KOD) and Knowledge of Insulin (KOI) and their association with hesitation to insulin use among people with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) from three healthcare facilities in Karachi, Pakistan.
Methods: This multicenter cross-sectional study enrolled 767 patients from Outpatient Clinics of the Diabetes and Endocrinology Departments of Karachi, Pakistan. All consenting patients aged >18 years with T2DM taking oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs) were enrolled. A structured questionnaire was used to assess KOD, KOI, and hesitation to insulin use. Chi-square and multiple logistic regression were used to determine the association of knowledge with the hesitation to use insulin.
Results: Fifty seven percent were females, with a mean age of 52.8+11.3 years. The majority were unaware of their type of diabetes (75%) and insulin pen devices (71.5%). More than 40% of study participants responded that multiple dosing is inconvenient, and insulin means too much self-care. The three most prevalent hesitations among patients include insulin not being able to be stopped (79%), insulin causing blood glucose levels to become too low (79%), and starting insulin, which means failure to control diabetes (75%). Patients with fair KOD and specifically fair KOI had significantly higher odds of having hesitation to insulin use.
Conclusion: This study identified knowledge gaps mainly for insulin use, which may lead to delayed or failure to initiate timely insulin therapy. Hence, individualized or group-focused educational activities should be implemented in hospitals to improve knowledge about the benefits of starting timely insulin therapy to prevent complications.
How to cite this: Rashid MO, Naz S, Kiran Z, Batool S, Sheikh A, Islam N. Knowledge of diabetes and insulin and its impact on hesitation to insulin use among patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus from different healthcare facilities: A multi-center cross-sectional study from Pakistan. JPES. 2024;1(2):58-64.
