Assessing Self-management Practices through Diabetes Knowledge Questionnaire and Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities Scale among Type 2 Diabetic Patients: A Pilot Study

Diabetes mellitus is a long-term metabolic disease marked by the partial/complete absence of insulin hormone in the body, resulting in a deviation in the metabolism of macronutrients. Earlier, diabetes was confined to developed countries only, but now the cases of diabetes are increasing in developing countries. Therefore, the management of diabetes has become critical, irrespective of the economic status of the country. This study was conducted to analyze the self-management practices in type 2 diabetic patients. The assessment was done through two pre-designed questionnaires: (1) Diabetes Knowledge Questionnaire and (2) Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities Scale. For the study, 100 type 2 diabetic patients of 30-60 years of age were selected from the housing societies of New Delhi. After signing the consent form, they were asked to fill out the general information questionnaire along with the DKQ and SDSCA. In DKQ, it was found that 75% of the participants scored maximum by answering 17 to 24 questions correctly. Out of the remaining 25% of the participants, 19% of participants answered 9 to 16 questions correctly and 6% of participants answered only 8 or less than 8 questions correctly. In SDSCA, it was found that the mean of the entire SDSCA was 3.30 days. For each activity, both general and specific diets scored highest because they were followed for five days a week (as per the average value). On the other hand, the least activity performed by the participants was smoking with an average of less than one day.