Nurses' attitudes towards diabetes in tertiary care: A cross-sectional study

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Nursing Education
• Public Health

Background:

• Diabetes mellitus is a growing global health concern.
• Effective diabetes care relies heavily on well-trained nursing staff.
• Assessing current nursing knowledge and attitudes is crucial for targeted education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the attitudes and training status of nurses in Saudi Arabia regarding diabetes patient care.
• To identify gaps in nursing education for diabetes management.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study was conducted.
• Data were collected from 1,695 nurses at King Fahad Medical City in 2016.
• The Diabetes Attitude Scale version 3 was utilized for data collection.

Main Results:

• A significant majority of participating nurses had not received specialized diabetes training.
• Nurses demonstrated high agreement on the necessity of specific diabetes management training.
• Awareness of diabetes' psychological impact was high, but perception of its seriousness and the importance of glycemic control was low.

Conclusions:

• There is a clear need for structured diabetes training programs for nurses in Saudi Arabia.
• Improved training can enhance nurses' perception of diabetes seriousness and self-care management.
• Targeted educational interventions are essential to improve the quality of diabetes care provided by nurses.