Deterioration of diabetic patients' knowledge and management skills as determined during outpatient visits.
A checklist of 22 items that diabetic persons need to perform correctly in order to carry out adequate home management was analyzed for 30 patients in an outpatient clinic. Both a recording of correct performance (baseline assessment) and a reassessment 3--17 mo later were obtained for each item included in the study. An 8 1/2% error rate occurred on reassessment. Approximately one-third of the patients had an error rate of 10% or more. No significant relationship was found between the percentage of error and age, interval between assessments, years of diabetes, or past performance on the checklist. Nor did a majority of the errors occur on items that showed an error immediately before the correct baseline assessment. This error rate is less than in reports not including a correct baseline performance. However, it is high enough to indicate that reassessment is needed more frequently than is generally done.
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003256:Community Participation; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D012646:Self Administration / Q000379:methods*
D007328:Insulin