Background. Diabetes mellitus is a disease whose prevalence worldwide presents a significant health crisis. Effective education and awareness programs can enhance patient knowledge, attitude, and practices to help in its effective management.

Objectives. Diabetes mellitus is a disease whose prevalence worldwide presents a significant health crisis. Effective education and awareness programs can enhance patient knowledge, attitude, and practices to help in its effective management.

Methodology. This study is a pre-post, without control group, cross-sectional survey conducted at a single institution, Chong Hua Hospital, involving patients with diabetes. Baseline interviews and laboratory tests were carried out prior to the education module, with pre- and post-surveys. Follow-up evaluations occurred three months later to reassess clinical parameters.

Results. A total of 59 individuals participated; the majority were female, over 40 years old, overweight or obese, and had comorbid hypertension. Most used insulin and took oral medications. At baseline, 57 had uncontrolled blood glucose; after three months, this dropped to 28, indicating improved glycemic control. Knowledge and attitude scores also improved significantly after the module, with Cohen’s d values of 0.89 and 0.70, indicating large and moderate effect sizes. However, these improvements did not significantly correlate with the change in HbA1c levels (r = 0.136, p = 0.306).

Conclusion. Structured diabetes education equips patients with essential knowledge; however, increasing knowledge and positive attitudes do not consistently improve HbA1c levels. This discrepancy may arise from the complexities inherent in diabetes management and the time required for patients to assimilate new information completely.

Keywords. Diabetes mellitus, knowledge, attitudes, practices, education

1. Ong, K. L., Stafford, L. K., McLaughlin, S. A., et al. (2023). Global, regional, and national burden of diabetes from 1990 to 2021, with projections of prevalence to 2050: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 202 The Lancet, 402(10397), 203–234. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01301-6
2. Statista. Share of deaths caused by diabetes mellitus diseases in the Philippines from 2017 to 2023. Accessed April 2, 2024 from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1367306/philippines-deaths-from-diabetes/
3. Mahzari, M. A., Oraibi, O. H., Shami, A. M., et al. (2022). Knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding diabetes mellitus among type 2 diabetic patients attending primary health care centers in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia. Cureus, 14(1), e28704. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.28704
4. Feldman, H., ElSayed, N. A., McCoy, R. G., et al. (2023). Standards of care in diabetes—2023 abridged for primary care providers. Clinical Diabetes, 41(1), 4–31. https://doi.org/10.2337/cd23-as01
5. Świątoniowska, N., Sarzyńska, K., Szymańska-Chabowska, A., & Jankowska-Polańska, B. (2019). The role of education in type 2 diabetes treatment. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 151, 237–246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diabres.2019.04.004
6. Lian, J. X., McGhee, S. M., Chau, J., Wong, C. K. H., Lam, C. L. K., & Wong, W. C. W. (2017). Systematic review on the cost-effectiveness of self-management education programme for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 127, 21–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diabres.2017.02.021
7. Jiang, X. J., Jiang, H., Lu, Y. H., et al. (2019). The effectiveness of a self-efficacy-focused structured education programme on adults with type 2 diabetes: A multicentre randomised controlled trial. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 28(17–18), 3299–3309. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14908
8. Steinsbekk, A., Rygg, L., Lisulo, M., Rise, M. B., & Fretheim, A. (2012). Group-based diabetes self-management education compared to routine treatment for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A systematic review with meta-analysis. BMC Health Services Research, 12, Article 213. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-12-213
9. Stratton, I. M., Adler, A. I., Neil, H. A. W., et al. (2000). Association of glycaemia with macrovascular and microvascular complications of type 2 diabetes (UKPDS 35): Prospective observational study. BMJ, 321(7258), 405–412. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.321.7258.405
10. The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial Research Group. (1993). The effect of intensive treatment of diabetes on the development and progression of long-term complications in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The New England Journal of Medicine, 329(14), 977–986. https://doi.org/1056/nejm199309303291401
11. Babikr, W. G., Aedh, A. I., Ahmed, A. M., et al. (2017). Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice of diabetic people in Najran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 5(5), 2150–2155. https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20171860
12. University of Michigan. (n.d.). Patients’ Diabetes Knowledge Questionnaire (DKQ). [Instrument]. Retrieved from https://www.med.umich.edu/
13. Asmelash, D., Abdu, N., Tefera, S., Baynes, H. W., & Derbew, C. (2019). Knowledge and practice towards glycemic control and its associated factors among diabetes mellitus patients. Journal of Diabetes Research, 2019, Article 2593684. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/2593684
14. Mansy, W., Wajid, S., Alwhaibi, A., Alghadeer, S. M., Alhossan, A., Babelghaith, S., Alrabiah, Z., & Al Arifi, M. N. (2022). Assessing outpatients' knowledge, attitude, and practice toward managing diabetes in Saudi Arabia. Inquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 59, 00469580221082781. https://doi.org/10.1177/00469580221082781
15. Mohamed, H., Al-Lenjawi, B., Amuna, P., Zotor, F., & Elmahdi, H. (2013). Culturally sensitive patient-centred educational programme for self-management of type 2 diabetes: A randomized controlled trial. Primary Care Diabetes, 7(3), 199–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcd.2013.05.002
16. Trani, M. R., Bilocura, I., Bersabal, S., Panilagao, R. K., Toledo, B. R., Garrido, E., Aultman, C., Oh, P., & Ghisi, G. L. M. (2024). Effects of a comprehensive structured patient education intervention on disease-related knowledge and behaviour change among people living with type 2 diabetes in the Philippines. Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences, 5, 1374850. https://doi.org/10.3389/fresc.2024.1374850
17. Chawla, S. P. S., Kaur, S., Bharti, A., Garg, R., Kaur, M., Soin, D., Ghosh, A., & Pal, R. (2019). Impact of health education on knowledge, attitude, practices and glycemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 8(1), 261–268. https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_228_18