Childhood diabetes: a myth or reality?- perception of the public from a low-income country: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes is commonly missed in most health facilities in Nigeria. Adequate knowledge of childhood diabetes is necessary for the recognition and possible intervention for the control of the disease. However, research to assess knowledge deficiencies and their relationship to attitude is lacking in most developing countries including Nigeria. This study intends to survey the beliefs and perceptions of caregivers of children towards diabetes in childhood. It also aims at determining the caregivers’ depth of knowledge of diabetes in children, the relationship between knowledge and practices as well as the association between level of education and gender with practices and knowledge. The study outcome will help in the formulation of policy and education of the communities with regards to the preconceived myths and realities of childhood diabetes. METHODS: A descriptive study involving 500 respondents, population groups were selected by multi-staged sampling from different areas in Enugu metropolis, south-East of Nigeria. A validated structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used. Ethical approval was obtained, and only consenting subjects were interviewed. Data was analyzed with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. RESULT: Almost all the respondents (99.8%) had heard of diabetes in adults. However, a lower proportion of respondents 43.2% knew about diabetes in childhood. Only 24.8% had good knowledge of the different aspects of diabetes. Although females were more knowledgeable about the effects of healthy life style modifications on diabetes, there was no gender predisposition in knowledge about diabetes in childhood. A positive association existed between knowledge and education [p < 0.001] concerning childhood diabetes. Irrespective of this association 82.6% of the respondents with good knowledge of the disease still had a poor attitude towards healthy life style practices. CONCLUSION: This study has shown that beliefs and perceptions of childhood diabetes among the adult caregivers in Enugu, south – East Nigeria is mostly erroneous and their knowledge deficient. Literacy did not improve both knowledge and attitude to healthy lifestyle practices. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-018-5744-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.