Validation of diabetes knowledge questionnaire in Croatian with assessment of diabetes knowledge and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the biggest challenges in global healthcare and society in general. Assessment of the patient's level of knowledge regarding diabetes is an important step in adapting group education programs to achieve better treatment outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate Diabetes Knowledge Questionnaire (DKQ) in Croatian language, to evaluate knowledge about diabetes and examine the relationship between knowledge and quality of life among type 2 DM patient's in Croatia. Methods. The study was conducted as a cross-sectional study on 500 subjects. Validation of DKQ questionnaire in Croatian language was done using forward-backward method and internal consistency was examined using Cronbach's Alpha. Quality of life was assessed using WHOQOL-BREF Questionnaire. Results. Good reliability and internal consistency of DKQ was confirmed (alpha = 0,740). Overall knowledge about diabetes was satisfactory (average DKQ score was 12,13). Longer duration of disease and previous education about diabetes were observed as predictive factors of better knowledge. No association was found between diabetes knowledge and quality of life. Conclusions. Our study confirms that DKQ is a good tool for assessing diabetes knowledge in Croatian language. Patients with DM demonstrated good diabetes knowledge but education in areas of self-care and nutrition needs to be improved which may increase quality of life.