Association between Self Care and Knowledge of Type II of Diabetic Patients Attending Al-Hilla City, Iraq

Abstract Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM), in particular type II, has lately become a serious medical condition with elevated probability of increasing comorbidity, because it is a lifelong illness that needs both good self-care and a person with sufficient knowledge about the disease. Objectives: The aim of this study to find the association between the patients' knowledge on type II diabetes and self-care outcome. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out using a descriptive research approach. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher created the questionnaire. A descriptive study design from 50 patients was chosen. The validity of the instrument was assured by 11 experts, and the instrument’s reliability was established through making a pilot study. The data were analyzed through using descriptive and inferential statistics by using of SPSS version 20.0 for analysis of questionnaire, The level of Cronbach’s alpha for patient knowledge ( 20 items) is (0.82), while self-care (30 items) is (0.81). Results: The study findings indicated a significant association between the patient knowledge and self-care at P value (0.008) < 0.05. Conclusion: The majority of patients with DM have a significant association between the patients knowledge and self-care outcome.