Knowledge about diabetes and its self-care, in workers of a mechanic workshop in Asunción, Paraguay

Abstract

Diabetes is a chronic disease that produces an increase in blood glucose levels. In Paraguay, it has a prevalence of 10.6%, of which 90% corresponds to type 2 diabetes, which is related to unhealthy lifestyles and makes self-care education a relevant issue. The objective of this research was to determine the knowledge about diabetes and its self-care in workers of a mechanic workshop in Asuncion, in the year 2023. The design was observational, descriptive, cross-sectional, with a quantitative approach, applied to 50 workers in the mechanical, electrical, management and laundry areas. The sampling was non-probabilistic by convenience. The method was the survey, using the questionnaire technique. To categorize knowledge, three cut-off points were established: low (˂60%), regular (60-79%) and high (80-100%). The main results: 82% aged 20-39 years, 100% male, 84% urban origin, 66% with salary above minimum wage, 48% with tertiary education, and 88% without diabetes. Knowledge about the disease was high in the concept (98%), type 1 diabetes (80%), risk factors such as poor diet (88%), prevention through healthy diet (94%), and complications such as amputations (88%). In the rest of the points evaluated, considering all the percentages and averaging between the indicators, a general average of 49% has been obtained, which corresponds to the low level. Likewise, knowledge about self-care, the levels demonstrated have been low. With which it is concluded that in general the workers have low knowledge about diabetes and self-care measures, evidencing the need to train the workshop population about this complex health condition.