Awareness on type 2 diabetes mellitus does not necessarily translate to a better knowledge and practices on prevention and management among adults
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Date
2023
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Publisher
AJOL
Abstract
The prevalence of diet-related non-communicable diseases such as type 2 diabetes is on
the rise in Tanzania. This creates a need to explore knowledge on prevention and management
for designing appropriate interventions. This study aimed to assess the prevalence, knowledge
and practices on prevention and management of type 2 diabetes among adults in urban areas of
Dodoma region. This cross-sectional study involved 313 randomly selected adults. A pre-tested
questionnaire adapted from the Tanzania STEPS SURVEY was administered through face-to-
face interviews. Fasting blood capillary was tested using Gluco-plusTM. Sixty three percent were
females and 53.6% (n=168) completed primary school. About 11% (n=35) had diabetes and 23%
(n=72) pre-diabetes of which 82% (n=88) were undiagnosed before this study. About 60% (n=188)
knows that diabetes can be prevented whereby 34% (n=64) and 21.3% (n=40) mentioned preventive
measures to be physical activities and eating balanced diet respectively. Knowledge was positively
associated with education level (AOR 2.05, 95% CI: 1.57-3.25) and female sex (AOR 1.76, 95% CI:
1.08-2.87). Half of the respondents did not know how to manage diabetes; 46% (n=70) mentioned
diet as the only management strategy while 24% (n=36) mentioned physical activity. Furthermore,
all participants were aware of type 2 diabetes existence of which 48% (n=150) reported it to be
a consequence of overweight/obesity. However, about 89% (n=278) were unaware of gestational
diabetes. Although pre-diabetes and diabetes rate was high, majorities were undiagnosed before
the study and there was limited knowledge on prevention and management of diabetes creating a
need for public education.
Description
Tanzania Journal of Agricultural Sciences (2023) Vol. 22 No. 02
Keywords
Diabetes, Knowledge, Practices, Prevention, Management