Awareness of diabetes mellitus among diabetic patients in the Gambia: a strong case for health education and promotion

BACKGROUND: Awareness of various aspects of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is essential for the prevention, management and control of the disease. However, several studies have consistently shown that awareness of DM in the general population is low. None of these studies, however, was conducted in The Gambia, even though the condition constitutes a major public health problem in the country. In this paper, we assessed the awareness of DM among diabetic patients attending the Medical Out-Patient Department (MOPD) of Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital (RVTH), Banjul. METHODS: We interviewed 200 patients attending the MOPD of RVTH. We used a tool containing questions on patient’s demographic characteristics and awareness of various aspects of DM including general knowledge on DM, causes, complications, management and prevention. RESULTS: Of the 199 patients who were aware of their condition, only 47% said they knew what DM is. Similarly, 53% of the study participants had no knowledge of the causes of DM and about 50% were not aware of the methods of prevention. 67% knew that DM can result to loss of sight while 46.5% knew that DM can cause poor wound healing. Few respondents knew that DM can lead to kidney failure (13.5%), skin sepsis (12.0%), heart failure (5.5%) and stroke (4.5%). Close to 50% of the respondent did not know how DM can be prevented. Level of education, duration of illness and knowledge of a family member with diabetes were important predictors of knowledge in our study. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that the majority of patients attending the MOPD have poor knowledge on several aspects of DM. Hence, there is need for conscious efforts towards improving the level of awareness through health education and promotion, not limited to the hospital but also within the general population, as part of strategies to prevent, manage and control DM.