Assessing nurses’ knowledge levels in the nutritional management of diabetes

Although nutrition education for diabetes patients is the responsibility of dieticians and/or nutritionist, nurses have an important role to play. This study measured the knowledge level of nurses’ and associated factors in the nutritional management of diabetes. In this cross-sectional study a sample of 200 nurses completed a 21-item nutritional management of diabetes knowledge test developed based on the ADA and WHO guidelines for the nutritional management of diabetes. Using Cronbach's alpha, reliability was 0.62. The nurses (n=200) had almost a 1:1 male to female ratio (n=99, 49.5% and n=101, 50.5%) and a mean age of 27.24±3.66 years. Total mean score was 12.13±3.17 (44.9% correct). Over 70% of the nurses said diabetes patients could exclude any of the major nutrients from their meals. Almost 90% (n=179) of the nurses did not know the recommended daily caloric intake of carbohydrates for diabetes patients. Higher mean scores were found in nurses who have ever had a refresher course in nutrition, ever counseled a diabetes patient and took 2–3 nutrition courses during school. Nurses’ knowledge in the nutritional management of diabetes was poor. It raises questions about the adequacy of nurses’ knowledge in the nutritional management of diabetes.