Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients towards insulin therapy

Background and Objectives: Strict insulin therapy is necessary for the proper control of blood sugar level in insulin requiring diabetic patients. This leads to elevated complications associated with insulin administration. Insufficient knowledge about insulin leads to preventable complications, adverse patient outcome, and poor glycaemic control. This study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of patients towards the insulin use, before and after patient counselling. Methods: This is a prospective interventional study conducted in 70 Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients on insulin therapy. Knowledge, attitude and practice of patients towards the insulin therapy were assessed using a validated questionnaire at the baseline and reassessed during follow up after 3 months to assess the improvement. Data analysis were done by using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) version 20. Results & Discussion: Before counselling, the percentage of study population with good level of knowledge was very low (5.7%). It was then improved (81.4%) after patient counselling. Conclusion: An improved knowledge about the proper administration and handling of insulin was observed. The study shows that the clinical pharmacist can play a vital role in disease management and creating awareness regarding the disease and drugs.