Approaches and awareness of family physicians on diabetes management during Ramadan

This study aimed to determine the approaches of family physicians in Turkey towards the fasting of diabetic patients and whether they used international treatment guidelines when making recommendations. In addition, this study also aimed to increase the awareness of family physicians about this issue before Ramadan, which is a month of fasting.

The study herein comprised cross-sectional, observational research. Before Ramadan 2018, a structured questionnaire form, which was unique to this study, was prepared based on the guidelines of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA), through platforms where family physicians gather via social media and mail groups, and sent to family physicians in Turkey via a link using an electronic questionnaire preparation and application programme. Moreover, the total knowledge level, attitude, and approach scores were calculated from the questions prepared from the relevant guidelines.

Participating in the survey were 262 family physicians. Only 22% of the family physicians stated that they were aware of the international guidelines for Ramadan and diabetes management, and only 10% said that they had read them. The mean knowledge level, attitude, and approach scores were determined to be lower than expected, and a significant difference was found between the scores and academic titles.

The lack of international guidelines on the subject, and of knowledge and experience about Diabetes Mellitus (DM) patient management during the month of fasting, stood out as the biggest problems. This study revealed that the awareness and competence of family physicians in disease management should be increased, in addition to that of fasting before, during, and after Ramadan in patients with DM, which has increasing prevalence in Turkey.