Factors associated with the gaps in the knowledge of diabetic patients attending primary health care center in Aseer region, KSA

Objectives: To know the factors associated with the gaps in knowledge of diabetic patients about their disease attending a primary health-care center. Methodology: At the primary health-care center, this cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 type 2 diabetic patients, selected by simple random sampling technique. A self-administered questionnaire was employed for the data collection. Results: Mean percent score of knowledge was found to be 30.4% among diabetic patients. About 52.5% of participants were 40–60 years of age, 53% were male, 76.3% were married, 16.5%, 24.5%, 21.5%, and 17.5% had illiteracy, primary, secondary, and university education, respectively. Almost half of the participants had a government job, while 37.1% were homemakers. Monthly income was 11,000–15,000 SR for 41.5% of participants. The duration of diabetes was <5 years among 30% of participants. About 53.8% were using oral hypoglycemic, while 48.3% were using insulin. Regarding comorbids, 37.3%, 32.3%, and 4% were hypertensive, dyslipidemic, and had ischemic heart disease, respectively. Regarding the factors, participants' mean knowledge percent scores significantly differed according to their age, education and monthly income (P < 0.001, P < 0.001 and P < 0.036 respectively). According to gender, social status, and occupation, knowledge percent scores were not statistically significant. Conclusion and Recommendations: Patients with type 2 diabetes had poor knowledge which differs significantly according to age, education, and monthly income. It is recommended to implement interventional programs that would enforce health education, keeping in mind the factors associated with gaps in the knowledge of diabetic patients.