Assessment of Knowledge of Diabetes Mellitus among the Rural Population of Erode District of Tamil Nadu, South India

Background: Knowledge of a disease is an important component of health literacy, that can minimize the mortality and morbidity associated with the problem. Lack of knowledge of a disease leads to the emergence of complications associated with clinical conditions. Hence, a prospective cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the knowledge of diabetes mellitus (DM) among the rural residents of Erode district, Tamil Nadu, India. Materials and Methods: The diabetes knowledge was examined using modified version of the Michigan DM questionnaire. The questionnaire includes 10 questions about general DM awareness, diabetic complications, prevention, and control. It also includes information about the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants. Results: In the current study, there were 974 individuals participated and completed the study. The findings showed that there is no statistically significant difference in knowledge of DM across different genders, educational levels, or occupation (p=0.470), However, there is a statistically significant difference in age-related knowledge of DM (p=0.006). The majority of the study participants are well known about the disease condition (66.6 %), the best method to monitor blood glucose at home (54.1 %), and complications of diabetes (53.8 %). Whereas, the overall diabetes knowledge was average (46.3 %) to good (40.9 %), with very least have excellent knowledge DM (5.0 %). Conclusion: According to this research, there is no statistically significant variation in gender, educational attainment, or employment situation when it comes to the various age groups understanding of diabetes mellitus. To raise awareness of DM among the general public, there is a need for well-organized educational interventional program(s) that target the weak points.