Knowledge, attitude and practices related to diabetes among community members in four provinces in Kenya: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: This cross-sectional study sought to establish the level of knowledge of diabetes among community members in rural and urban setups in Kenya and determine how this impacts on their attitude and practices towards diabetes. METHODS: A face-to-face interview was done for selected respondents using a structured questionnaire for data collection. CONCLUSION: 1982 respondents, 1151 (58.1%) female and 831 (41.9%) males aged between 13 and 65 years were interviewed. 539 (27.2%) of all the respondents had good knowledge of diabetes; of these 52% had tertiary education; 25% had secondary education while 14% and 9% had primary and no education, respectively. Only 971(49%) of the respondents had a positive attitude towards diabetes while 813 (41%) demonstrated good practices towards diabetes. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that the level of knowledge of diabetes in all regions in the country is very poor. It also indicates very poor attitudes and practices of the community towards diabetes. A comprehensive nationwide diabetes education programme is necessary to improve this situation.