Survey of knowledge among primary health care workers in diabetes

The knowledge of diabetes mellitus held by allied health professionals in Kentucky and the short-term and long-term effectiveness of a symposium in altering this knowledge was studied. The groups investigated consisted of: 136 primary health workers (nurses, dieticians, health educators, and other health professionals) surveyed before and after the 12-hour symposium (group 1); 37 of these primary health professionals studied again one year after the first symposium (group 2); and 26 nurses who work at a university hospital, and who did not attend the symposium (group 3). Before training, all groups performed similarly on this survey. Group 1 scored 58.5 +/- 0.2% correct, group 2, 56.9 +/- 3.1% correct, and group 3, 52.7 +/- 5.0% correct. Performance did not correlate with educational level, job description, or geographic location within Kentucky. There was a negative correlation between performance and age for group 1 (r = -0.3494, P < .001). Follow-up studies immediately after the symposium showed that a significant improvement occurred in the performance of group 1 and group 2 on this knowledge survey (correct score +/- SEM = 82.5 +/- 0.3%, and 81.7 +/- 2.4% respectively, P < .005) compared to pretraining scores. A repeat survey of group 2 one year later showed a significant deterioration of knowledge (P < .05), but not to pretraining levels (mean correct score = 69.2 +/- 3.4% at one year versus 56.9 +/- 3.1% before training, P < .02). These results suggest that more emphasis on professional education in diabetes and study of effective methods for providing this education is required.