Objective: The aim of the research was to evaluate the level of patients' knowledge about type 2 diabetes, treatment and proceedings in the case of the disease.
Materials and method: 100 patients suffering from type 2 diabetes were included in the research, aged 40-90 years (64% and 36%), who lived in the countryside (54%) and in the city (46%), hospitalized in the internal and geriatric wards in provincial hospitals of the Podkarpacie Region in south-eastern Poland. The research method was a diagnostic survey conducted by use of a questionnaire that consisted of 31 both multiple choice and open questions. Among the respondents, 64% were women and 36% men. Among them, 18% were aged from 40-50, 20% aged from 51-60, 28% from 61-70, 24% from 71-80-years-old, and 10% of respondents were aged over 80. Among the examined, 12% were treated only by diet, 24% by insulin, 18% by insulin and diet.
Results: From among respondents cured by insulin, 52% of them administered their own injections, 36% had the injections administered by a family member, and 12% had the injections administered by a nurse. From among the patients, 70% knew the symptoms of hypo- and hyperglycaemia, 84% knew how to react in the case of hypoglycaemia, but only 56% knew how to react in the case of hyperglycaemia. From among respondents, 68% controlled the skin if the feet.
Conclusions: Over a half of the respondents (70%) know the symptoms of diabetes and mentioned frequent urination (77%) and increased thirst (65%), but 30% had no knowledge of the symptoms of diabetes. The state of the patients' knowledge about different complications of the disease was in insufficient.