Quality of Diabetes Care: A cross-sectional observational study in Oman

The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of diabetes care in Oman.

This was a cross-sectional observational study. Fifty percent of all those attending six general health centres in June 2005 were systematically selected for the study. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the data.

A total of 430 diabetic subjects were included. Just over 61% percent of the subjects were female (n = 263). The overall mean age of the cohort was 52 ± 12 years ranging from 6 to 84 years. Only 40% (n = 171) and 39% (n = 169) of the diabetics had their random blood sugar (RBS) and fasting blood sugar (FBS) documented, respectively. However, 79% (n = 339) had either RBS or FBS done according to the records. Documentation for the other measurements ranged from 74% (n = 317) for HbA1c and LDL (low density lipoproteins)-cholesterol to 95% (n = 409) for systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP) readings. A total of 58% (n = 249) of patients had non-missing values of HbA1c, SBP/DBP, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL (high density lipoproteins)-cholesterol, and triglycerides. Only 2.4% (6 out of 249 diabetics) were simultaneously within goal for HbA1c (<7%), SBP/DBP (<=130/80mmHg), total cholesterol (<5.2mmol/L), LDL-cholesterol (<3.3mmol/L), HDL-cholesterol (>1.1 - <1.68mmol/L), and triglycerides (<1.8mmol/L).

There was good documentation of values for the indicators used in the assessment of quality. However, the proportion (2.4%) of those meeting internationally recognised goals for the three diabetes-related factors was extremely low.