Abstract
This study aimed to identify areas of deficient knowledge among hospital nurses regarding diabetes management; the ultimate goal was to improve the quality of care for people with diabetes who are admitted to hospital for other medical reasons. Diabetes-related knowledge was assessed in 116 nurses using a 66-item questionnaire; the mean total score was 48.5±15.1. Knowledge was highest for nurses working in paediatrics (62.0±5.5; P<0.05) when compared with nurses working in other specialty wards; the mean knowledge scores of nurses working in medicine units (53.0±12.8) was significantly higher than those working in surgery (43.6±16.2; P<0.01) and dermatology (38.3±15.2; P<0.01) units. However, the overall knowledge of diabetes among the nursing staff was found to be lacking; educational programmes covering diabetes and inpatient diabetes management would be useful to improve nurses’ knowledge. arabic 11 English 71