Background: Diabetes mellitus is increasing worldwide and is regarded as a public health problem. Older persons with diabetes and comorbidity are associated with a number of complications. Nurses’ knowledge of diabetes is paramount for maintaining good patient safety and ensuring people living in residential nursing homes receive the care and assistance self care needed, thus avoiding acute as well as late complications and maintains a good quality of life.
Aim: To describe nurses’ who work at residential nursing homes knowledge related to diabetes.
Method: Descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire study. Data were collected using a questionnaire for control of nurses’ knowledge about diabetes. A total of 128 nurses working at residential nursing homes participated. Data were compiled and analyzed with descriptive statistics.
Results: The nurses’ felt that they had good knowledge of the causes and development of hypoglycemia and it’s treatment. Furthermore, the nurses felt they had sufficient knowledge of medical and nursing interventions for abnormal blood glucose levels. Only a few nurses gave correct answers about the risk factors for getting low blood glucose levels. The nurses felt they had the need of education primarily regarding the care of diabetic foot ulcers, diet and unstable blood glucose levels.
Conclusion: Study findings suggest there is a lack of knowledge about diabetes among nurses who working at residential nursing homes. The study highlights the need of education to prevent negative consequences for the quality of care and patient safety. Furthermore, there is a necessity for further development of specific measurements for the control of nurses’ knowledge regarding development and care of diabetes.