Primary Care Diabetes
Volume 1, Issue 2 , Pages 87-91, June 2007

The relationship between patient education and glycaemic control in a South African township

  • Marloes van de Sande

      Affiliations

    • Faculty of Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author.
    • ,
  • Hanneke Dippenaar

      Affiliations

    • Department of Family Medicine, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
    • ,
  • Guy E.H.M. Rutten

      Affiliations

    • University Medical Center Utrecht, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Received 13 April 2007; accepted 13 April 2007. published online 21 May 2007.

Abstract 

Objective

To investigate if there is a relationship between patients’ perceived diabetes education and their glycaemic control.

Methods

Two hundred and forty-seven diabetic (both DM 1 and DM 2) patients who were treated for diabetes in a primary nurse led health care clinic in South Africa were analyzed. Patients were interviewed, and information was retrieved from the patients’ medical record.

Results

Fasting blood glucose levels were <7.0mmol/l in 17.6% of the patients, 79.3% of the patients had a BMI>2788.2% of the patients received information about diabetes, the majority received information from the nurse. Patients with a higher educational level and patients who received education tended to have a better glycaemic control. (n.s.) Significantly more patients who received information had a good or acceptable FBG level (p=0.03). The recorded prevalence of chronic complications was low.

Conclusions

Glycaemic control was suboptimal in the big majority of patients. Education had a positive effect on glycaemic control, albeit not impressive. Also in South Africa poor health literacy should be taken into account in diabetes education.

Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, Glycaemic control, Diabetes education, Primary care

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PII: S1751-9918(07)00043-5

doi:10.1016/j.pcd.2007.04.007

Primary Care Diabetes
Volume 1, Issue 2 , Pages 87-91, June 2007

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