Objective: To assess the level of diabetes knowledge, attitude and self-management activities of the patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and explore the correlation between diabetes knowledge, attitude and self-care.
Methods: Totally 200 T2DM patients finished the questionnaires, including the demographic information questionnaire, the Audit of Diabetes Knowledge (ADKnowl), the third version of Diabetes Attitude scale (DAS-3) and the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA).
Results: The ADKnowl score was 68.06±10.07. The DAS-3 score was 122.60±5.66. The SDSCA score was 57.98±15.30. Education level, duration of diabetes, complications and periodic review were the influential factors for self-care behaviors. The score of self-care behaviors was positively related to diabetes knowledge (r=0.176, P<0.05) and attitude (r=0.256, P<0.01).
Conclusion: Diabetes knowledge and self-care behaviors in the vast majority of T2DM patients are at a low level. Medical staff should not only emphasize the diabetes knowledge, but also pay enough attention to the attitude of T2DM patients and improve their self-care behaviors.