Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Awareness of Diabetes Mellitus in Adults of a Slum Area of Mumbai, India: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Diabetes Mellitus is one of the diseases which can be considered as a slow poison. The World will have more than 300 million diabetics by 2025. India alone accounts for more than 50 million patients which is the highest in the world. Very limited studies have been conducted before, which assessed the aware- ness of diabetes mellitus in slum dwellers especially in Mumbai. The aim and objective of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and awareness in slum dwellers of Mumbai, India.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at a slum area of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. A well-structured questionnaire was distributed to 150 adults between 18 to 60 years. Data was collected and statistics were drawn with the help of SPSS 19.

Results: In the present study, out of 150, 54.44 % were males (84) and 44 % were females (66). We observed that 71.33% of the slum dwellers have heard about diabetes. 35.33% consumes tobacco while 27.33% have alcohol every day. 20.66% are hypertensive and almost one fourth of them denied taking any medications. Approximately 60% knew the cause of diabetes. 72.33% did not know any signs & symptoms of diabetes. 35% and 40% did not have any knowledge regarding the methods used for investigations and complications of diabetes respectively.

Conclusion: Overall, the present study showed that the aware- ness, attitude and knowledge was low in slum dwellers of Mumbai, India. In order to further prevent new cases and complications of diabetes, new schemes and policies of health awareness should be implemented at grass root level.

Keywords: Diabetes, India, Mumbai, Slum, Awareness, Knowledge, Attitude, Risk factors

JEL Classification: I1