Assessing the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) among the newly diagnosed Prediabetes screened in selected districts of South India

Abstract

Currently, 314 million people in the world are Prediabetes, and it is predicted that around 500 million would be burdened by the year 2025. Continuing education of diabetes and its complications is crucial, but it should be accompanied with regular assessment of Knowledge Attitude and Practice (KAP) among the high-risk population. This study was carried out to assess the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice among the newly diagnosed Prediabetes screened over selected districts of South India. This study was conducted through prediabetes screening camps over districts of Calicut, Wayanad and Malappuram in Kerala and The Nilgiris district in Tamilnadu from September 2017 to October 2019. A questionnaire survey was done as a part of a prospective open-label interventional study with 308 prediabetes individuals. Baseline characteristics of the participants were obtained, and their knowledge, attitude and practice regarding Prediabetes were assessed. The finding of the present study revealed 90% of the respondents had poor knowledge, 9% had average knowledge, and only 1% had good knowledge of Prediabetes. In the attitude assessment, only 1.9% had a strongly positive attitude, 14% had a positive attitude, 54% had neutral attitude while 17% had a negative attitude and 13% had a strongly negative attitude. Regarding healthy lifestyle practices, 35.4% had a deplorable practice that scored below 6. Around half of the population, 52.3% had poor practice, 12% had proper training, while only 0.3% had a perfect practice. Knowledge and practice regarding lifestyle modifications among prediabetes participants were found to be reduced. The mixed response was obtained regarding their attitude towards Prediabetes and its management.