title: Knowledge and Demand for Information about Islet Transplantation in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes.
abstract: This cross-sectional study based on self-administrated questionnaire was conducted to investigate knowledge, related factors, and sources of information regarding islet transplantation in patients with type 1 diabetes in Japan. Among 137 patients who provided valid responses, 67 (48.9%) knew about islet transplantation. Their main source of information was newspapers or magazines (56.7%) and television or radio (46.3%). However, 85.8% of patients preferred the attending physician as their source of information. Although more than half of the patients were correctly aware of issues related to islet transplantation, the following specific issues for islet transplantation were not understood or considered, and there was little knowledge of them: need for immunosuppressants, lifestyle and dietary adaptations, fewer bodily burdens, and complications. The experience of hypoglycaemia, a high level of academic background, frequent self-monitoring of blood glucose, and the use of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion were related to higher knowledge about islet transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Adult Nursing, Graduate School of Medicine, School of Health Sciences and Nursing, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Masakazu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishigaki
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Teruo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shiba
authors.forename: Yasumichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Tetsuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kazuma