Assessment of diabetes-related knowledge among nursing staff in a hospital setting

Abduelmula R Abduelkarem is Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice, Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Ajman University of Science and Technology Network, Ajman, United Arab Emirates; Hawa J El-Shareif is Adult Endocrinologist, Endocrine Department, Tripoli Medical Centre (Tripoli University, Faculty of Medicine), Tripoli, Libya. This study aimed to identify areas of deficient knowledge among hospital nurses regarding diabetes management; the ultimate goal was to improve the quality of care for people with diabetes who are admitted to hospital for other medical reasons. Diabetes-related knowledge was assessed in 116 nurses using a 66-item questionnaire; the mean total score was 48.5±15.1. Knowledge was highest for nurses working in paediatrics (62.0±5.5; P<0.05) when compared with nurses working in other specialty wards; the mean knowledge scores of nurses working in medicine units (53.0±12.8) was significantly higher than those working in surgery (43.6±16.2; P<0.01) and dermatology (38.3±15.2; P<0.01) units. However, the overall knowledge of diabetes among the nursing staff was found to be lacking; educational programmes covering diabetes and inpatient diabetes management would be useful to improve nurses’ knowledge.