Eureka! Institutional Repository

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a disease that has become epidemic in recent years, with diabetic populations around the world showing significant high trends. There are different types of diabetes mellitus that differ more or less in their symptoms. Information and frequent medical examinations are solutions to prevent and treat that disease. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge of senior citizens visiting the open protection centers about diabetes mellitus, and to evaluate their knowledge using a suitable questionnaire, as well as to examine the potential use of this questionnaire as a teaching tool to increase their knowledge. Method: The present study is an interventional study in 85 elderly people 65 to 80 years old (men: 36.5%, women: 52.9%, missing: 10.6%) who frequent “KAPI” of the Municipality of Xanthi. The participants' knowledge about the diabetes mellitus was obtained through a 52-question questionnaire. The 52 questions were classified into 7 sub domains. Only 47 of 52 questions was taken into account in calculating the score. The questionnaire was administered to the participants twice. After the first administration, a 30 'lesson was given to the participants. The second administration was completed after 2 weeks. Results: The average total score per question, being 76,8% in the 1st distribution, significantly increased to 84,2% in the 2nd (paired t-test t(46)=9,856, p<0.05).Significant changes before and after the intervention were observed in all sections (p < 0,05). Women scored higher than men, with no statistically significant gender difference. Similarly, no significant difference was found in either age, educational level, or presence of a diabetic in the participant's family environment. Older people have a lot of knowledge about diabetes mellitus. While there are areas of knowledge in which their knowledge is enough, in other areas their knowledge is insufficient. As a result, the final score is at a moderate level. Elderly people's knowledge increased after the intervention was completed (30 minutes teaching by the researcher). However, their existing knowledge is not enough to properly prevent the disease. Conclusion: According to the results of the intervention research, knowledge about diabetes mellitus of older people can be measured through appropriate tools. It also appears that through a brief update on diabetes mellitus, older people can increase their knowledge and become more informed. Particularly encouraging is the fact that while in the first administration there were areas where the participants' scores were low ("Symptoms", "Things diabetics are allowed or not allowed to do"), the second recording did not.