Nurses knowledge of diabetes in developed and developing countries

16^th Clinical Nursing & Nurse Education Conference

November 21-22, 2016 Melbourne, Australia

Abdulellah Alotaibi

University of Technology Sydney, Australia

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Nurs Care

Abstract :

Background: With a rising prevalence of diabetes world-wide, nurses have an important role in care of people with diabetes. To be able to effectively support patients� self-management, nurses require a comprehensive understanding of all aspects of diabetes care and treatment. Objective: This study aimed to critically appraise and synthesis the best available evidence of nurses� knowledge related to diabetes care, and to identify barriers to knowledge acquisition. Design: Integrative review Methods: We conducted a systematic search for English-language, peer reviewed quantitative, qualitative and mixed method publications via CINAHL, Medline, EMBASE, and Education Research Complete databases between 2004 and 2014. A total of 374 articles were retrieved. After removal of duplicates and quality assessment, 25 studies were included in the review. Results: The reviewed studies originated from five continents, mainly from developed countries, and used a variety of study designs and tools to assess nurses� knowledge of diabetes. Aspects of diabetes care assessed included nurses� knowledge of: diabetes medications (12 studies), nutrition (7), blood glucose monitoring (8), diabetes complications (6), pathology, symptoms and diabetes management (9); factors/barriers affecting nurses� diabetes knowledge were described (11). Synthesis of the articles based on study designs, objectives, and country of origin and assessment tools indicated that overall, substantial proportions of nurse in many countries and healthcare settings have suboptimal knowledge about diabetes and diabetes care. Conclusion: This review indicates that the nursing workforce internationally may experience significant knowledge deficits in various aspects of diabetes care, a particular problem given the rising prevalence of this disease world-wide. Nursing programs should review their opportunities for knowledge and skills acquisition related to diabetes care in academic and workplace settings both for introductory and continuing education and invest in educational innovation to maintain currency and up skill the workforce for this essential topic.

Biography :

Email: abaadi1982@hotmail.com