Assessment of the primary and intermediate school staffs’ knowledge, attitude and practice on care of children with Type 1 diabetes at school, Al-Jouf, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Children with diabetes type 1 (T1DM) need close monitoring for their blood glucose, food intake, insulin therapy and physical activity during school hours in order to guard against the development of acute and long-term complications.

Objectives: To evaluate the current situation of management of T1DM in primary and intermediate schools children through assessment of the working staffs’ attitude, knowledge and practice at Al-Jouf, Saudi Arabia.

Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study enrolled consented voluntarily participating working staffs from primary and intermediate schools in Al-Jouf region, Saudia Arabia. A questionnaire (included 23 questions) testing knowledge, attitudes and practice regarding T1DM and care of diabetic children was used.

Results: 744 teachers were studied (62.1% females) where 58.1%of them were working in primary schools. Of all, 69% were class teachers, 20.4% administrators, 8.6% school counselors, and 2% physical education teachers. 75.4% of the participants had adequate general knowledge about diabetes. Only 43.78% of the respondents had specific knowledge about diabetes in the school and teachers with a family diabetic patient showed higher knowledge about diabetes vs. their counterparts. Only 16.0% of the participants reported that their schools have trained personnel in diabetes. Large proportion of study teachers’ (94%) was willing to join a training program for care of diabetic students. Of the total group of teachers, 665 support recruitment of a school nurse.

Conclusion: Diabetes care training programs for school teachers and staffs, availability of school nurses and instigating collaboration between the diabetic center and the school is essential for safety of such diabetes student patients in the schools.

Keywords: Type 1 Diabetes mellitus, School teachers, Training programs, Diabetes care, Knowledge about diabetes, School nurse, Diabetes care at the school