Misconceptions About Diabetes and Its Management Among Low-Income Minorities With Diabetes

Misconceptions About Diabetes and Its Management Among Low-Income Minorities With Diabetes Devin M. Mann , MD, MS 1 , Diego Ponieman , MD, MPH 1 , Howard Leventhal , PHD 2 and Ethan A. Halm , MD, MPH 3 1 Division of General Internal Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York; 2 Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey; 3 Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas. Corresponding author: Devin M. Mann, devin.mann{at}mssm.edu . Abstract OBJECTIVE To determine diabetic patients' knowledge and beliefs about the disease and medications that could hinder optimal disease management. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A cross-sectional survey of 151 type 2 diabetic patients characterizing diabetes knowledge and beliefs about the disease and medications was conducted. RESULTS Mean diabetes duration was 13 years. Over half of the patients (56%) believed that normal glucose is ≤200 mg/dl, 54% reported being able to feel when blood glucose levels are high, 36% thought that they will not always have diabetes, 29% thought that their doctor will cure them of diabetes, one in four (23%) said there is no need to take diabetes medications when glucose levels are normal, and 12% believed they have diabetes only when glucose levels are high. CONCLUSIONS Diabetes knowledge and beliefs inconsistent with a chronic disease model of diabetes were prevalent in this sample. Suboptimal knowledge and beliefs are potentially modifiable and are logical targets for educational interventions to improve diabetes self-management. Footnotes The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked “advertisement” in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact. Received October 8, 2008. Accepted December 31, 2008. © 2009 by the American Diabetes Association.