To determine knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding diabetic retinopathy among diabetic patients in a multispecialty hospital: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Context: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is an important complication of diabetes mellitus (DM). DR accounts for 4.8% of the cases of blindness throughout the world. Aims: To assess the patients' awareness about DR and their attitude and practice patterns in a tertiary care system in urban Maharashtra. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital, Pune, Maharashtra from March 2019 to April 2020 after approval from institutional review board. Patients older than 18 years and who were diagnosed with type II DM were included. Data were entered into Excel and analyzed using the SPSS software version 20. Results: Only 28% of diabetic patients had good knowledge of DR, 82.5% were found to have positive attitude toward DR screening, and 27% had scored good in the practice score category. A significant association was found between DR knowledge with level of education (P ≤ 0.001). Conclusions: Better knowledge of DR influences a positive practice patterns in patients with diabetes. Onus lies on the healthcare professionals, particularly physicians as they are the first point of contact.