Level of type 1 diabetes education of physiotherapists based on selected factors

Physiotherapists may play an important part in raising the awareness of patients and society as regards type 1 diabetes (T1D) and the prevention of concomitant diseases. The objective of the paper is to assess the level of T1D education among physiotherapists versus selected factors.

The diagnostic poll used an original questionnaire with personal questions and a test (17 single-select questions). The respondents included 103 physiotherapists from Poland, aged between 20 and 50, with 64.1% women and 35.9% men.

When asked about the sources of T1D education, 72 respondents (36.5%) selected websites, 71 (36%) medical literature, 36 (18.3%) university classes and 18 (9.1%) a physician. As far as the test results for the total knowledge of T1D was concerned, the knowledge level was medium for the majority (69 (67%)) of the respondents, high for 28 respondents (27.2%) and low for six respondents (5,8%). A statistically significant correlation was observed between the years of working as a physiotherapist, and the level of T1D knowledge (r = 0.196, p = 0.047). The respondents that had been on the job longer had more answers that were correct. The level of knowledge was not correlated with age (r = 0.113, p = 0.258) or sex (r = 0.142, p = 0.344) or the subjective self-assessment of knowledge of the respondents (r = -0.04, p = 0.685).

The majority of the respondents had a moderate level of diabetes education. The level of the T1D knowledge of physiotherapists was primarily determined by their number of years on the job. Age and sex of the respondents had no impact on the level of their knowledge of diabetes (T1D).