Insulin-related Knowledge Among Nurses Working In Internal Medicine Department Of One Of The Hospital In Xinxiang City

Background:Diabetes is one of the largest global health emergencies of the 21 st century and is considered to be one of the major public health challenges in both industrialized and developing countries.Inpatient diabetes treatment has become more complicated recently with the introduction of new insulin formulations and a new emphasis on tight blood glucose control.This presents a challenge in the face of the complexities associated with insulin use and also taking into consideration the potential dangers associated with inappropriate use of insulin.Insufficient knowledge of insulin use can result in preventable complications,adverse patient outcome,poor adherence to therapy and invariably poor glycemic control.Objective:To determine the knowledge of nurses regarding insulin therapy at one of the Hospital in Xinxiang City,specifically to determine the respondent's profiles in terms of;current job position,level of comfort in managing patients with diabetes,and sources of information regarding insulin therapy.This study also aims to measure the respondent's level of knowledge on insulin therapy and to test whether the respondent's level of knowledge on insulin therapy is associated with their profiles.Methods:The nurses(n=50)working in the internal medicine and its sub-specialty departments(Intensive Care Unit,Cardiac Care Unit,Emergency Department and Wards)at one of the Hospital in Xinxiang City,Henan province,P.R.China,were surveyed anonymously using a questionnaire which consisted 25 multiple-choice questions with a single best answer.The questions were divided into categories which best reflected information on professional profile,information on characteristics and prescription of insulin,and information on preparation and administration of insulin.For data analysis categorical data were presented in frequency and percentages while continuous data were indicated using mean and standard deviation.In testing associations among categorical data,Chi-square test of independence was used.Results:Based on the scoring system used in this study and the participant's answers to the questions asked in the survey questionnaire,66 % of respondents were categorized to have Fair level of knowledge regarding insulin,wherein they managed to answer correctly 27%-54% out of the 22 items reflecting insulin-related knowledge.Also there were 32% of them who have an Average level of knowledge on insulin,wherein they answered correctly 55%-81% of the 22 items.None of the participants were able to score high,however there was one respondent who scored Poor score.Total mean score(i.e.mean scores of 22 knowledge based questions)for Ward nurses(11.95)was found highest when compared to other groups.Whereas total mean scores for ER nurses(9.8)and ICU nurses(9.7)were found to be similar.Cardiac Care Unit nurses were found to have total mean score of(8.4).Mean scores for questions related to insulin characteristics and prescription according to professional position were found to be lowest in CCU nurses(2.4)and highest among ward nurses(5.5).ICU nurses and ER nurses both scored(3.8)and(3.4)respectively.Mean scores for questions related to insulin preparation and administration according to professional position were found to be similar across the group.Conclusion:This study concluded that with considerable gaps in insulin related-knowledge,all survey participants of this study have fair knowledge on insulin-related therapy.Therefore this study suggests a methodical,continuous and up-to-date sessions and seminars to be conducted,standardized protocols and algorithm to be designed and regularly updated to improve the educational awareness about insulin-related therapy.