Background: Worldwide India leads in diabetes mellitus and within India, Kerala tops the list. Keeping in view increasing burden of diabetes mellitus in Kerala, it is highly important to know about the awareness of the disease among general population to chalk out culturally appropriate and need-oriented educational strategies.
Objective: To assess the knowledge of diabetes mellitus in a rural population of Kerala.
Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken in a rural panchayat of District Ernakulam of Kerala wherein 343 adults were randomly interviewed from six randomly selected wards. The interview schedule had 23 items on knowledge, which were assessed in four domains including general awareness of diabetes mellitus, its risk factors, complications, and lifestyle modifications. Each item was given a score. Maximum possible score was 23. Knowledge score of less than 9 was considered as poor, 917 as average, and above 17 was taken as good. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 11. Descriptive analysis was done for sociodemographic variables, and t-test and analysis of variance were used to ascertain the level of significance of predictors in awareness.
Result: Mean age of the participants was 47.7 ± 15.74 years with more than half (55.7%) having completed their high school education. Mean knowledge score was 15.6. Being diabetic, having completed high school education, and with a family history of diabetes had significantly better knowledge score (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Educating community on risk factors is the key strategy for the prevention of diabetes and delaying the onset of disease among high-risk individuals.
Key words: Diabetes mellitus, knowledge, Kerala
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