Knowledge, attitude, and practice of the pre-diabetic elderly referred to Sina Hospital in Tabriz regarding pre-diabetes

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Diabetes is one of the chronicand debilitating diseases that causes great harm to the individual and society and creates a huge economic burden on families and society. Therefore, it is necessary to know the patients before diagnosing diabetes and in the pre-diabetes stage, measure their awareness, attitude and performance and formulate an educational and care program accordingly in order to prevent the complications and consequences of diabetes. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim of determining the knowledge, attitude and practice of pre-diabetic elderly people who referred to Sina Medical Training Center in Tabriz. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 219 elderly people in the pre-diabetes stage who referred to the diabetes clinic of Sinai Educational Center in Tabriz. Inclusion criteria included elderly people with prediabetes 60 years and older, the last fasting blood sugar test between 110 and 125 mg/dL, and the ability to verbally communicate to the extent of answering questions. In this study, available sampling was used. The study tools included a demographic information questionnaire and a questionnaire on the level of knowledge, attitude and performance of prediabetic people (KAP-PAQ). The data were collected using SPSS software and tests. Independent t-statistics, analysis of variance, post-hoc test and Pearson correlation coefficient were analyzed. Results: Based on the findings, the average score of pre-diabetic elderly knowledge is 64.0±1.0, their attitude score is 2.24±1.92, and their practice score is 2.61±2. It was 5/76. And about 50% of the elderly in the pre-diabetes stage had a negative attitude towards pre-diabetes. Also, based on the findings, the practice of the elderly in the pre-diabetes stage was poor. Pearson's test showed that there is a significant relationship between awareness and practice (r=0.234 and P ≤0.001), but between knowledge and attitude and attitude This relationship with practice was not significant (P>0.5). Conclusion: Considering the awareness and performance of this category of elderly people, formulating written policies and plans and focusing more than ever on increasing the knowledge of this category of elderly people through various educational methods, including face-to-face and virtual classes, training Multimedia, educational books and pamphlets seem to be vital and necessary because in this way, their practice can be improved and as a result, the treatment results and satisfaction of this group of patients can be seen to improve. It prevented physical injuries, pre-diabetes from becoming diabetes, and debilitating and costly complications.