INTRODUCTION:

Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level over a prolonged period of time¹. The exact cause of diabetes is unknown. The risk factors include family history, environmental causes, presence of damaging immune system cells, age, weight, inactivity, ethnicity, etc. The complications develop gradually which include neuropathy, nephropathy, retinopathy, cardiovascular diseases, foot ulcers, hearing impairment, etc². Symptoms of diabetes include increased thirst and urination, increased hunger, fatigue, blurred vision, numbness or tingling in the feet or hands, sores that do not heal and unexplained weight loss³.

India has an estimated 77 million people with diabetes, which makes it the second most affected in the world, after China⁴. One in six people (17%) in the world with diabetes is from India⁴. The International Diabetes Federation has estimated that globally there are 415 million people with diabetes in 2015 and is predicted to increase to 642 million by 2040⁽⁵⁾. The incidence and prevalence of type 1 diabetes is also increasing⁶. The number of new-onset type 1 diabetes between 0-14 years is 15.9, and prevalence is 95.6 (in thousands) ⁶.

Children with diabetes spend a considerable amount of their time at school and it is not unreasonable to expect their teachers to have a basic working knowledge of diabetes for a safe management of their schooling⁷. School teachers are potentially effective personnel, who could influence the attitude and behaviour of school children through their knowledge and are also considered as the main care givers to these children. Teachers’ awareness regarding diabetes mellitus, its complications and emergency care of their diabetic children can save their lives. This can be achieved through assessing teachers’ awareness level, to detect gaps and manage through periodic training programs and health education sessions⁸.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

A descriptive study to assess the level of knowledge regarding diabetes mellitus and its selected complications among private school teachers in Jammu with a view to develop an informational pamphlet.

OBJECTIVES:

• To assess the level of knowledge regarding diabetes mellitus and its selected complications among private school teachers in Jammu.

• To find out the association between the level of knowledge regarding diabetes mellitus and its selected complications with selected socio-demographic data.

• To prepare an informational pamphlet regarding diabetes mellitus and its selected complications.

MATERIAL AND METHODS:

Research approach:

Quantitative research approach was used.

Research design:

Non-experimental, descriptive research design was used.

Target population:

Private school teachers.

Sampling technique:

Non probability, convenience sampling technique was used.

Sample size:

The sample size for the study was 100.

Research setting:

Little Flower School and Maharishi Vidya Mandir School, Jammu.

Inclusion criteria:

The private school teachers

· Who were present at the time of data collection.

· Who were willing to participate in the study.

Exclusion criteria:

· Private school teachers who were not able to read, understand or write English.

Tool:

A self-structured questionnaire with two parts was developed to assess the level of knowledge regarding diabetes mellitus and its selected complications.

Part A:

Socio demographic data such as age, gender, marital status, educational status, area of residence, religion, socio economic status, previous family history and previous knowledge regarding diabetes mellitus.

Part B:

30 multiple choice questions to assess the level of knowledge regarding diabetes mellitus and its selected complications.

Scoring procedure:

Each question carries one correct answer which carried one mark and wrong answer carried zero mark.

Score percentage	Level of knowledge
<50	Inadequate knowledge
51-75	Moderate knowledge
76-100	Adequate knowledge

Reliability of tool:

The reliability of tool was checked by Split-half technique and was calculated by Karl Pearson's coefficient of correlation method. The reliability was 0.81 and was found to be reliable.

Data analysis:

• Data was analyzed using descriptive (frequency and percentage distribution) and inferential statistics (chi square)

Ethical considerations:

• Written permission was taken from the authorities of the schools.

• Confidentiality of the study samples were maintained.

RESULTS:

The findings were presented under two sections:

Section I

Frequency and percentage distribution of socio demographic variables

Section II

Analysis and interpretation of data related to objectives of the study

Section I – Frequency and percentage distribution of socio demographic variables (N = 100)

S. No.	Socio demographic variables	Frequency (f)	Percentage (%)
1.	Age
	< 35 years	32	32
	35-45 years	27	27
	45-55 years	34	34
	> 55 years	7	7
2.	Gender
	Male	36	36
	Female	64	64
3.	Marital status
	Married	79	79
	Unmarried	21	21
	Widow	0	0
	Divorced	0	0
4.	Educational status
	Graduation	76	76
	Post graduation	24	24
5.	Area of residence
	Rural	24	24
	Urban	76	76
6.	Religion
	Hindu	86	86
	Muslim	0	0
	Sikh	13	13
	Christian	1	1
	Others	0	0
7.	Socio economic status
	High class	12	12
	Middle class	81	81
	Low class	7	7
8.	Dietary pattern
	Vegetarian	47	47
	Non-vegetarian	48	48
	Lacto-ovo-vegetarian	5	5
9.	Previous family history of diabetes mellitus
	Yes	43	43
	No	57	57
10.	Previous knowledge regarding diabetes mellitus
	Television	15	15
	Internet	13	13
	Newspaper	10	10
	Others	26	26
	Nil	36	36

Out of 100 samples, 34% belong to the age group of 45-55 years, 64% were females, 79% were married, 76% were graduates, 76% belong to urban region, 86% were Hindus, 81% belong to middle-class socio-economic status, 48% were non- vegetarian, 57% had no previous family history and 36% had no previous knowledge regarding diabetes mellitus.

Figure 1 Level of knowledge regarding diabetes mellitus and its selected complications

Section II – Analysis and interpretation of data related to objectives of the study

Objective 1:

To assess the level of knowledge regarding diabetes mellitus and its selected complications among private school teachers in Jammu.

The results showed that 23 (23%) had adequate level of knowledge, 58 (58%) had moderate level of knowledge and 19 (19%) had inadequate level of knowledge regarding diabetes mellitus and its selected complications.

Objective 2:

To find out the association between the level of knowledge regarding diabetes mellitus and its selected complications with selected socio-demographic data There was a significant association between the level of knowledge and selected socio demographic variables such as gender and dietary pattern but there was no significant association between the level of knowledge and selected socio demographic variables such as age, marital status, education, area of residence, religion, socio economic status and previous knowledge regarding diabetes mellitus.

DISCUSSION:

The findings of the study revealed that out of 100 samples, 23% had adequate level of knowledge, 58% had moderate level of knowledge and 19% had inadequate level of knowledge.

This result was consistent with the study conducted by Zehra Aycan (2012) to assess the level of knowledge regarding diabetes mellitus among school teachers in Turkey. The findings showed that a fair percentage (47.6%) of the participants had a moderate level of knowledge⁹.

Regarding the association between the level of knowledge regarding diabetes mellitus and its selected complications among private school teachers with their selected sociodemographic data, there was a significant association between gender and dietary pattern.

These findings were similar with the study conducted by Ghassan Aldekhayel (2020) to assess the diabetic knowledge and practice of school teachers in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which showed a significant association between knowledge and gender¹⁰.

IMPLICATIONS:

• The present study will help the school health nurse to provide health education regarding diabetes mellitus and its complications to the school teachers.

• This knowledge will help the school teachers to take care of the children with diabetes mellitus and also educate the children regarding life style modifications to prevent diabetes mellitus in the future.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

• A similar study can be replicated with larger population to validate and generalize the findings.

• A comparative study can be conducted among government and private school teachers.

• An experimental study can be conducted with structured teaching programme.

CONCLUSION:

Lifestyle changes such as losing weight, eating healthy and engaging in regular, moderate physical activity may reduce the progression of diabetes mellitus. For this, the school teachers should be educated and trained by community health nurses or school health nurses for giving care to the school children who have diabetes mellitus and also can reduce the projected growth of the disease.

REFERENCES:

1. Diabetes in India - Wikipedia

2. Diabetes - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic

3. www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/symptoms-causes

4. Kannan, Ramya (2019-11-14). "India is home to 77 million diabetics, second highest in the world". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2020-04-29.)

5. International Diabetes Federation. IDF diabetes atlas, seventh edition. Brussels, Belgium: international Diabetes Federation; 2015

6. https://diabetes.co.in/what-is-the-prevalence-of-diabetes-in-india-current-data-and-stats/

7. Greco D. An assessment of the knowledge of school teachers on type 1 diabetes mellitus. Recenti Progressi in Medicina. 2018 Oct; 109 (10) : 509-512.

8. Razan S. Al Humayed. Knowledge, attitudes and practices of school teachers regarding acute complications of type 1 diabetes mellitus in Abha city, Southwestern Saudi Arabia. World Family Medicine. 2020; 18(10): 13-19

9. Zehra Aycan. Assessment of the knowledge of Diabetes Mellitus among school teachers within the scope of managing Diabetes at school program. Journal of Clinical Research in Paediatric Endocrinology. 2012; Dec; 4(4): 199-203

10. Aldekhayel G. An assessment of Diabetic Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of school teachers in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Journal of Diabetes Mellitus. 2020; 10: 132-153

Received on 23.11.2022 Modified on 18.12.2022

A and V Pub J. of Nursing and Medical Res. 2023; 2(1):9-12.

DOI: 10.52711/jnmr.2023.04