Experiences of clinic nurses regarding diabetes education in Turkey’ health system

Abstract

Background and aim: No study is available determining the occupational characteristics and profiles of nurses working in the internal medicine units, regarding the education of patients with type 2 diabetes in Turkey. The aim of this study was to determine the profile of clinic nurses regarding diabetes education.Materials and methods: Nurses (n=180), who were working in the internal medicine clinics between September and October 2015, were included in this cross-sectional study. The data were collected using a questionnaire. This study was approved by the ethical review boards at the authors’institution (and each hospital). In consequence of the research, the Statistical Package for Social Sciences 16.0 program was used for statistical analyses while acquired data were being assessed.Results: The mean age of the nurses was 29.26 ± 6.12 years; the vast majority of nurses were female and with bachelor's degree; more than half of them were working in the Southeastern Anatolia region, others were equally in the Aegean region, and Black Sea region. Nurses work mostly in the following clinics: general internal medicine clinic, neurology clinic, and chest clinic. In the study, 55.1% of nurses were found to provide diabetes education for patients in their clinics, and 83.5% of the education was individual patient education. The first three subjects of education given by the nurses were "the importance of insulin therapy, insulin injection sites, site rotation, side effects of insulin therapy, and preservation of insulin" (16.0%); "the definition of antidiabetic drugs and how to use them" (14.0%); and "the definition and symptoms of diabetes" (13.8%).Conclusion: The in-service diabetes education should be increased, and the number of nurses who can provide in-service diabetes education should be increased.