Awareness and Knowledge of Diabetes Mellitus Among School Teaching Staff in Taif City

Abstract

Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases, usually appears during childhood or adolescence; however, it can also develop in adults. The objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and awareness about diabetes among teaching staff in Taif province of Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study, using a structured pre-tested questionnaire, was conducted in Taif. Our study involved 50.5% males and 49.5% were females. The age of participants ranged from less than 30 years old to more than 50 years old. Our results showed that the majority of teaching staff in our sample study are aware of diabetes and how to deal in case of low blood glucose levels. However, the knowledge of causes, symptoms, risk factors, complications of diabetes, and signs of low blood glucose level were not as high as expected. Therefore, training is required for the teaching staff as more than half of our sample study had taught a diabetic child.