KNOWLEDGE OF DIABETES AMONG CZECH OUTPATIENT NURSES TO PROVIDE QUALITY CARE AND EDUCATION TO DIABETICS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Background
Currently, 1 million diabetics (i.e., 10% of Czech people) in the Czech Republic use outpatient services. Nurses are key members of outpatient health care. The aim of the study was to evaluate knowledge about diabetes among outpatient registered nurses.

Material and methods
A cross-sectional quantitative study, using a standardized questionnaire, was conducted on a sample of 441 outpatient registered nurses in 2019-2020. Descriptive and regression analysis in an exploratory regime was used to analyze the data.

Results
Respondents achieved 7-43 points (26 on average), which corresponds to a 60% success rate on the knowledge test. The best results regarding knowledge of diabetes mellitus were achieved by nurses working in diabetology outpatient departments (10 points more than other outpatient departments according to a regression analysis). On the other hand, no correlation between the length of practice or age of registered nurses was proven.

Conclusions
Nurses providing primary care or other specialist care to people with diabetes do not have the knowledge to provide quality care and education to them. Therefore, greater attention must be paid to educating outpatient nurses in diabetes management.