Eureka! Institutional Repository

Introduction: Type 1 diabetes is a modern scourge. The problem is constantly increasing, either due to inactivity or lack of information. Throughout this situation, the teacher plays a leading role in the life of a child with diabetes due to his/her daily and long-term contact with him/her. As such, it is important for the teachers to be aware of diabetes specific medical terminology and symptomatology. Purpose: The purpose of the present study is to investigate teachers' knowledge of diabetes and hypoglycemia as well as to improve their knowledge after intervention. Material and Method: The sample of the study consisted of 50 primary school teachers. For data collection, a questionnaire was used, which was constructed based on the study of contemporary literature. Results: The majority of teachers were women (74%) and the majority (62%,)were over 50 years old . 88% of teachers had completed higher education . Most of the teachers involved in the study had more than 20 years of service. There is a significant improvement in diabetes educators' knowledge and performance in disease-related skills. Before the education program it was found that only 17 teachers could recognize the symptoms of hypoglycemia and only 4 the blood glucose number which requires treatment. On the other hand, after the education program there was a significant improvement to the correct answers for all questions. In addition, graphs showed a significant difference in diabetes management skills, with significant improvements in rates after the program. Conclusions: After the intervention, there are significant differences in teachers' coping knowledge with hypoglycemic events. Teachers' knowledge of diabetes seems to have improved compared to the previous situation.