Knowledge and Self-care Practices among a Sample of Type II Diabetes in Duhok City: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background and objectives: Diabetes is a significant chronic disease with a high prevalence worldwide. The number of diabetic patients is rising, necessitating improvements in both care and treatment. A baseline evaluation of patients' knowledge and self-care habits is required. The study's objectives were to find out diabetic patients' understanding of the condition and its complications and adherence to self-care routines related to type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 300 diabetic patients with type two diabetes who were 18 years and older, having the condition for at least three months, and was conducted in Azadi general teaching hospital in Duhok city from April 2022 to September 2022. Patient selection was taken by systematic random method. A questionnaire which was interviewer-administered was used for collecting data. Results: Patients’ age ranged between 31 to 70 years; the majority of them (48.67%) were between the ages of 51 and 60 years. The participants were males (44.67%) and females (55.33%). Concerning knowledge about risk factors of diabetes 224 patients (74.67 %) knew that family history is a risk, while 254 (84.67 %) were unaware of low physical activity is a risk factor. Among the self-care practices, foot care was the most neglected area. Conclusion: Patients with diabetes mellitus did not demonstrate sufficient levels of knowledge and practice. Carefully targeted interventions are required. Another issue that has to be addressed is the diabetes patients' documented low adherence to physical activity.