Assessing Knowledge and Practice of Self-Administration of Insulin among Diabetes Mellitus Patients: Implications for Enhanced Diabetes Care

Background: Type II diabetes mellitus poses substantial management challenges, and self-administered insulin management is crucial in diabetes care. Nonetheless, numerous patients encounter difficulties in insulin administration. This study sought to assess knowledge and practice of self-administering insulin in diabetes mellitus patients, as well as examine associations with socio-demographic factors. Materials and Methods: A quantitative descriptive research design was employed, and 300 patients were selected through non-probability convenient sampling. Data collection utilized self-structured and validated questionnaires and checklists. Ethical approval was obtained from the Sumandeep Vidyapeeth Institutional Ethical Committee under reference number: BNPG181D19021. Results: The findings indicated that the participants had differing levels of knowledge and practical application. Among them, 72.33% (n=217) displayed a moderate level of knowledge, while 27.66% (n=83) demonstrated adequate level of knowledge. In terms of their practical skills, 77% (n=231) exhibited an average level of practice, while 11.67% (n=35) and 4.33% (n=13) displayed good and excellent practice, respectively. Notably, no significant correlation was found between knowledge and practice scores (knowledge mean: 10.88±0.5017, practice mean: 2.13±0.5749). Five demographic variables were associated with knowledge scores, while six variables were linked to practice scores. Conclusion: This study reveals a deficiency in both knowledge and practice regarding insulin self-administration. Addressing this issue requires a focus on improving patient education and practice. Physicians and trained nurses should play a pivotal role in providing insulin self-administration education during hospital follow-up visits. These findings underscore the necessity for targeted interventions to enhance diabetes care and patient outcomes.