A Nationwide Cross-sectional Survey of Knowledge and Practices of Diabetes Drug Injection Techniques of Patients, Nurses, and Physicians

Abstract

Objective

To investigate the knowledge and practices of diabetes drug injection techniques of diabetes patients, nurses, and physicians to support formulating national guidelines for standardized diabetes drug injection techniques.

Patients and Methods

In this nationwide multicenter cross-sectional survey conducted between November and December 2020, patients, nurses, and physicians were randomly chosen from 250 primary, 150 secondary, and 100 tertiary care hospitals using the stratified cluster sampling method. Their knowledge and/or practices of diabetes drug injection techniques were surveyed using the Diabetes Drug Injection Knowledge and Practice Questionnaire for Physicians, Nurses, and Patients.

Results

In total, 10,694, 2643, and 2816 eligible questionnaires were collected from patients, physicians, and nurses, respectively. Overall, 78.2% (7588/9709) type 2 diabetes patients failed to attain the target hemoglobin A_1c. Hypoglycemic episodes and lipohypertrophy occurred in 19.8% and 34.7% of the patients, respectively. Needle reuse (odds ratio, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.33) and incorrect injection site rotation (odds ratio, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.16 to 1.51) were associated with failure to attain the target hemoglobin A_1c. Overall, 48.9% physicians and 20.4% nurses had a poor knowledge domain score. Care setting and training, diabetes care experience, and regions were significant determinants of diabetes drug injection knowledge domain scores in both physicians and nurses.

Conclusion

Poor glycemic control, occurrences of injection-associated complications in diabetes patients, and poor knowledge domain scores of a subset of physicians and nurses highlight the importance of regular assessment and education regarding diabetes drug injection techniques for physicians and nurses and development of national guidelines for diabetes drug injection.

Trial Registration

Chictr.org.cn (ChiCTR2100045302).