Assessment of knowledge and belief's barriers to living with type 2 diabetes and its related factors

Living with type 2 diabetes is a big challenge. In this regards, concentration on patients’ knowledge and beliefs are main components of planning for living with the disease. The purpose of this study was to assess knowledge and beliefs’ barriers to living with type 2 diabetes and its related factors. This was a cross sectional study conducted with 600 patients selected using random sampling. Data gathering tool was consisted of two sections: demographic and health related items, diabetes control index as HbA1C (10 items), and the questionnaire of knowledge and beliefs barriers (10 items). Interviews were performed to collect the data. Descriptive and inferential statistics was used to analyze data. Mean and standard deviation of patients’ knowledge and beliefs’ barriers was 31.26 and 7.61, respectively. There were significant relationships between patients’ knowledge and beliefs’ barriers and disease duration, level of education, type of treatment, occupation, age groups, income and HbA1C (P<0.001). Results of the logistic regression model revealed that odds ratio of knowledge and beliefs’ barriers had a significant relationship with disease duration (P=0.001), under diploma education (P<0.001), Insulin therapy (P=0.004), mixed therapy of oral agents and insulin (P=0.02), age more than 65 years old (P=0.001) and poor diabetes control (P<0.001). The severity of patients’ knowledge and beliefs barriers had a significant relationship with elderly age, disease duration, less education, non-oral agents’ therapy, and poor diabetes control. Conducting experimental studies on the factors in patients with type 2 diabetes is suggested.