Assessment of the Knowledge of Diabetes Mellitus Among School Teachers within the Scope of the Managing Diabetes at School Program

Objective: Training teachers and education professionals on diabetes is crucial for full-time monitoring of diabetic children in schools. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge on diabetes in a group of school teachers in Turkey. Methods: Between November 2010 and November 2011, 1054 teachers from three regions of Ankara were given a questionnaire to assess their knowledge on diabetes. The mean age of the group (27% males, 73% females) was 38.8±8 years. 61.7% of the participants were class teachers, 23.3% were school counselors, and the rest were physical education teachers and administrators. Results: A fair percentage (47.6%) of the participants had a moderate knowledge level on diabetes and 32.4% expressed a lower level of knowledge. A large proportion (94%) gave an accurate definition of diabetes. Of the total group of 1054 teachers, 625 were aware that blood glucose level might decrease in diabetic children during follow-up. Also, 75% believed that diabetic children were eligible for physical education classes. 52.8% of these teachers had no diabetic child in their classes and teachers with a diabetic patient in their family had better knowledge of diabetes compared to their counterparts. Conclusions: Our study results indicate that school teachers have limited knowledge on diabetes. We believe that their knowledge levels can be improved by widespread training programs. Conflict of interest:None declared.