Objective: The research of basic knowledge about DM was carried out in order to determine the quality of care for patients with diabetes.
Respondents and Methods: The research was conducted among 194 nurses/technicians of the University Hospital of Split. A survey questionnaire (Table 1) was used as a research instrument, which consisted of general data and factors affecting DM, and examination of basic knowledge about DM. The questionnaire consisted 9 questions and lasted 20 minutes, with the presence of the examiner, without any literature or mobile phones.
Results: To the question about the most common cause of death of patients with diabetes, the respondents answered with only 47.94% correct answers. A higher level of knowledge was shown in questions related to HbA1c (87.63%) and the reference value of HbA1c (68.56%). The lowest level of knowledge was observed in terms of the knowledge about the use of insulin (23.71%) and oral hypoglycaemics (35.05%). A higher percentage (55.67%) gave the correct answer to the question about the application of insulin. A statistical analysis of only the correct answers within individual clinics was also processed.
Conclusion: There is an insufficient level of basic knowledge about the use of insulin therapy, the characteristics of oral antidiabetic drugs and patient education about proper nutrition among nurses.
H. Majstorovic: None. S. Vladislavic: None. M. Marendic: None. T. Milicevic Milardovic: Consultant; Abbott. Advisory Panel; AstraZeneca, Boehringer-Ingelheim. Consultant; Novo Nordisk. V. Kokic Males: None.
