Abstract:
Diabetes mellitus (DM) contributes to nearly 1.5 million deaths annually. World Health Organization declared that prevalence of DM has been rising more rapidly, which is 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. In Sri Lanka according to a local study done on 2005, prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus is 14.2% among males and 13.5% among females. At present, one in 12 adults in the country suffers from Diabetes, which is 1.16 million. High caloric intake and lack of physical activity are the main contributing factors of type 2 diabetes mellitus and the principal targets of intervention. Researching on the knowledge, attitude and practice related to dietary modification helps to bridge the gaps and reduce the complications and mortality related to Type 2 DM. The objective is to assess the basic knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) towards dietary modifications among diabetes mellitus patients. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus attending the medical clinic at Teaching Hospital Batticaloa (THB). After obtaining informed written consent from the volunteer participants, a properly validated questionnaire was used. Data were collected from relevant study settings and analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24. The ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Review Committee, Faculty of Health-Care Sciences, Eastern University, Sri Lanka. In our study, 41% of the participants were between the age group of 51-60. Within the participants, 67.6% were female. 50.5% of the patients were educated up to secondary level. 66 (31.4%) were having DM more than 10 years. 34.3% of the respondents were following the clinic between 1-5 years. This study reveals, knowledge (96.24%), attitude (76.7%) and practice (63.8%) towards dietary modifications among the participants who are following medical clinic at THB is good. Results of this study expressed that there is a gap between the knowledge and attitudes/practice of the patients. This gap between KAP calls for locally modified diabetes education programs and suitable dietary styles from the stakeholders to improve overall wellbeing and outcome of diabetes in the patients.
