Impact of knowledge, attitude, and practices of Type 2 diabetic patients: A study in the locality in Vietnam

BACKGROUND: Disease knowledge, appropriate attitude, and proper practices play an important role in disease control and reduction of diabetes-related complications and deaths. This study aims to investigate the impact of knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAPs) of Type 2 diabetic patients' outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional research was conducted on a group of 102 Type 2 diabetic participants in 17 communities in Tam Binh District, Vinh Long Province, Vietnam. The research tool employed the KAP questionnaire using IBM SPSS 22 to analyze the data. RESULTS: The participants' average age was 57.02 +/- 6.323 years. The proportion of women was 76.5% (three times higher than men). The knowledge score of the participants was low (30.04 +/- 12.823), the attitude toward score of diabetics was moderate (61.544 +/- 29.99), and the practice of self-care score was low (50.59 +/- 14.881). There were also some significant relationships between KAPs with ethnicity, marital status, diabetic duration, location, employment status, and treatment method. In addition, there were only significant differences between the self-care practice groups and patients' attitude toward Type 2 diabetes. CONCLUSION: There is a significant relationship between KAP with some participants' characteristics. The KAPs of the diabetic patients in Tam Binh district are still low. This result showed that although the patient's attitude towards disease was good, it was not enough for them to practice good self-control due to poor knowledge.