Knowledge, attitudes and health choices among non-diabetic patients regarding diabetes mellitus

Healthcare workers require better understanding of the current knowledge and behaviours of the local community towards diabetes mellitus (DM) and its prevention before appropriate interventions can be developed to address the gaps. There is currently a paucity of scientific papers on knowledge, attitudes and health choices among the non-diabetic population in a facility setting in South Africa.

In this cross-sectional study, a self-reported questionnaire was administered to 165 adult participants attending the Chiawelo Community Practice from 02 March 2020 to 17 April 2020. The study utilised descriptive statistics, Chi-square testing, univariate logistic regression, and multivariate analysis for variable assessment.

Almost half of the participants (49%) had good knowledge of DM, with 60% indicating good attitudes and 52% making good health choices to prevent DM. Participants having received education from clinicians were 5.61 times more likely to develop better attitudes and 3.92 times more likely to adopt better health choices towards DM compared to those who obtained information from media or other sources.

The study found that poor knowledge of DM does not necessarily translate into poor attitude towards the disease, which is noteworthy. The study also highlighted the important role of healthcare workers in influencing behaviour change.

Information from this study can be used to strengthen health services through several clinical governance activities including quality improvement, capacity building, health education and community-oriented promotion, and prevention strategies.