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ABSTRACT
Background. Patient involvement forms the cornerstone of
the management of chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus.
Objective. We evaluated the results of counseling selected
hospitalized diabetic patients about their medications, disease,
and lifestyle modifications in terms of knowledge, attitude, and
practice outcomes.
Methods. Diabetic patients were counseled via regular bedside meetings, via the distribution of leaflets throughout their
hospital stay, and during regular follow-up visits for two months
after discharge from the hospital.
Results. Forty-six patients (19 in the test group and 27 controls) completed the study. In the test group, 12 patients (63.1%)
were counseled in Kannada, the local language of the study
site. A total of 30 to 60 minutes was spent in counseling 63.1% of
the patients. Insulin was explained to 13 patients (68.4%); among
the oral antidiabetic agents, metformin was discussed with 10
(52.6%) of the 19 patients. Although knowledge scores in the test
group of patients improved, compared with those of the control
group, as determined by the MannWhitney test (P < .05), we
did not observe significant improvement in attitude or practice
outcomes.
Conclusion. Patient counseling by a clinical pharmacist
improved knowledge scores, but this improved knowledge did
not lead to appropriate attitudes or practices.
KEY WORDS diabetes; knowledge, attitude, and practice outcomes; patient counseling
INTRODUCTION
The role of pharmacists has changed dramatically over the
past 30 years. Traditionally, pharmacists have been viewed as
individuals who dispense medications to the public. The concept
of pharmacy practice has gradually changed from a productoriented activity to a patient-oriented one. Pharmacists are now
At the time of this writing, Mr. Palaian was a student in the Department
of Pharmacy Practice at Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences in
Manipal, India. He is currently a Lecturer at Manipal Teaching Hospital/Manipal College of Medical Sciences in Pokhara, Nepal. Mrs. Acharya
is a Senior Lecturer and Dr. Rao is a Professor, both at Manipal College
of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Manipal. Dr. Shankar is an Assistant
Professor at Manipal Teaching Hospital/Manipal College of Medical
Sciences in Pokhara. Mr. Nidin Nair and Mr. Nibu Nair are Lecturers in
the Department of Pharmacy Practice at the Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Manipal.
P&T 383
Tools
The Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) Questionnaire,
developed by the hospital, was prepared in three languages:
Kannada, Malayalam, and English. It consisted of 25 questions:
seven attitude/practice questions (numbers 8, 11, 13, 16, 17, 23,
and 24) and 18 knowledge-related questions (Appendix A).
For the knowledge questions, each question was scored as
one (1) for a correct answer and as zero (0) for an incorrect
answer.
For the practice questions, adhering to the guidelines for
disease management or instructions from the patients health
care provider merited a score of 1; nonadherence was given a
score of 0. Although we did not carry out a pilot study to test the
questionnaires validity and reliability, we performed a reliability analysis and calculation of the Cronbach alpha value (0.72)
after obtaining data from the respondents. The Cronbach alpha
is used to assess the reliability of scales.
sessions for both the test and the control patients and then documented the details in a patient profile form developed for the
study.
To improve patient compliance, we supplied the test group of
patients with aids such as envelopes containing their medication
and a medication calendar. We observed the patients for at least
two months from the day of discharge, with an interval of one
month or more between each follow-up visit. During the followup periods, we evaluated KAP outcomes using the same questionnaire on two occasions, with at least one month between
each follow-up evaluation.
We carried out the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test to analyze the
changes in KAP following patient counseling in the test group
(P < .05). We then compared KAP scores from the day of admission, the day of discharge, and the first and second follow-up
appointments among the control and the test groups using the
Mann-Whitney test (P < .05).
RESULTS
A total of 59 patients were enrolled in the study from November 1, 2002, to April 30, 2003. Although both type-1 and type-2
diabetic patients met the inclusion criteria, no patients with
type-1 diabetes were enrolled. Patients who completed all followup visits until April 30, 2003, were included in the analysis.
Of the 59 patients enrolled, 46 completed the study (27 controls and 19 test patients); of the remaining subjects, two patients
died during their follow-up period and 11 patients withdrew
from the study for unknown reasons. Because the KAP scores
did not follow a normal distribution, we used the nonparametric Mann-Whitney test and the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test
instead of the Student t-test. Selection or attrition bias might have
been introduced, because we did not analyze information from
the patients who dropped out of the study.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Criteria for Enrollment
Men and women with type-1 and type-2 diabetes mellitus as
the chief reason for hospital admission, with or without other
diseases, and who were receiving drug therapy for diabetes
were eligible for inclusion in the study. Children, pregnant
women, and mentally incompetent patients were excluded from
the study.
Patient History
Among the participants in the study population, 16 patients
(34.78%) had a history of diabetes of less than five years duration. Of the remaining patients, 10 (21.73 %) had a history ranging from five to 10 years; 11 patients (23.91%), from 11 to 15
years; six patients (13.04%), from 16 to 20 years; and three
patients (6.52%), more than 20 years.
No patient had a history of diabetes of less than five years duration.
Language
Kannada was the language most frequently used (for 12
continued on page 389
384 P&T
Insulin
Metformin
Glibenclamide
Other sulfonylureas
Pioglitazone
Acarbose
1 1
5
13
5
10
Medications
Figure 1 shows the drugs for which the test group had
received detailed counseling. Most of the test patients (13
patients, 68.4%) were using insulin, followed by:
metformin (e.g., Glucophage, Bristol-Myers Squibb)
(10 patients, 52.6%).
glibenclamide (five patients, 26.3%).
other sulfonylureas (five patients, 26.3%).
pioglitazone (Actos, Eli Lilly/Takeda) (one patient, 5.2%).
acarbose (Precose, Bayer) (one patient, 5.2%).
No patients were taking meglitinides.
DISCUSSION
Our study evaluated the impact of pharmacist-provided counseling in terms of diabetic patients understanding of their disease, drug therapy, and lifestyle changes. We found that counseling by pharmacists was effective in improving patients
knowledge but not in improving their attitudes and practices.
Because there was no correlation between attitude and practice,
we cannot assume that improved patient knowledge would
result in appropriate behavior.
Management of chronic disease is strongly linked to lifestyle
modifications. For effective disease prevention and treatment,
behavioral changes are required.
For patients with chronic diseases, home is usually the
central site of managing the illness. This is true for diabetic
patients who also need knowledge about their illness in order
to manage it effectively.17 The role of the pharmacist is especially
P&T 389
A major objective of counseling is to improve patient compliance. Several strategies may be taken to encourage the patient
to adhere to therapy.19 Our study used patient information
leaflets to promote counseling. The leaflet was written in local
languages, which enhanced understanding among the patients.
A study by Hawkins and colleagues assessed the effectiveness
of interventions by clinical pharmacists in managing hypertensive and diabetic patients.20 The controls received conventional
care by one physician; the test group of patients received care
directly from a pharmacist and were closely monitored by a
physician. The investigators noted an increase in patient satisfaction and patient compliance with the treatment regimen for
the test group. In our study, the pharmacist monitored the
patient chart for correct doses, drug interactions, and any
needed dosage adjustments.
Patient involvement is of paramount importance for the successful management of diabetes. Lifestyle changes are usually
necessary; these include dietary adjustments, exercise, monitoring of blood glucose levels at home, sometimes monitoring
urine changes, and following an appropriate drug regimen).21
Shilling conducted a program that utilized a pharmacist for
Table 1 Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) Scores of the Control Group of Patients (C1C27)
Patient
No.
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5
C6
C7
C8
C9
C10
C11
C12
C13
C14
C15
C16
C17
C18
C19
C20
C21
C22
C23
C24
C25
C26
C27
KAP Score
Day of Admission
Day of Discharge
1st Follow-up
2nd Follow-up
Knowledge
Attitude/
Practice
Knowledge
Attitude/
Practice
Knowledge
Attitude/
Practice
Knowledge
Attitude/
Practice
11
14
6
9
8
12
7
15
13
6
11
13
12
16
13
9
10
13
9
12
14
13
11
13
11
13
0
4
6
5
5
4
4
4
5
6
5
3
5
3
6
5
5
5
3
6
5
7
6
3
5
7
6
0
14
14
8
12
6
11
6
14
15
7
13
12
11
15
13
10
10
12
12
11
15
8
12
12
12
13
14
2
6
4
3
6
5
3
5
5
4
4
5
3
6
6
5
5
3
5
6
6
4
3
4
6
7
6
12
12
10
11
8
12
7
14
15
4
14
12
13
14
12
11
10
12
12
13
14
9
12
11
0
0
14
4
7
4
5
5
5
4
6
5
6
3
5
2
6
6
5
5
3
7
7
6
3
3
5
7
0
6
13
12
8
11
9
11
6
15
14
6
13
13
11
14
13
11
10
12
12
11
13
10
12
12
10
13
14
4
6
5
5
4
6
4
6
6
4
4
5
2
7
6
5
5
4
4
6
6
3
2
5
6
7
7
Note: The numbers in each column represent KAP scores of the patients on different days following hospital admission.
390 P&T
T1
T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7
T8
T9
T10
T11
T12
T13
T14
T15
T16
T17
T18
T19
KAP Score
Day of Admission
Day of Discharge
1st Follow-up
2nd Follow-up
Knowledge
Attitude/
Practice
Knowledge
Attitude/
Practice
Knowledge
Attitude/
Practice
Knowledge
Attitude/
Practice
16
10
10
12
11
7
8
4
10
10
8
7
7
3
9
13
9
10
13
6
2
4
3
5
4
2
3
4
7
7
1
4
3
5
6
6
6
4
17
14
14
16
10
7
14
17
15
13
13
13
11
3
11
15
17
11
14
7
2
3
3
4
2
4
3
4
7
7
3
5
3
5
5
6
6
6
17
16
16
15
11
12
14
17
16
13
11
14
11
10
13
15
17
10
15
7
4
4
4
4
5
4
4
4
7
7
4
5
6
5
6
6
5
6
18
17
16
17
13
15
15
16
16
14
14
14
13
8
14
15
18
12
14
7
6
5
7
5
6
5
5
4
7
5
4
7
4
4
6
6
6
7
Note: The numbers in each column represent KAP scores of patients on different days following hospital admission.
Day of
Day of
1st
2nd
Admission Discharge Follow-up Follow-up
Test (n = 19)
43
Control (n = 27) 5 2
43
52
5 2*
52
5 2
52
participants received information and training to improve compliance. These study findings indicated that the test group
experienced fewer medication errors, fewer hospital admissions, and fewer changes in therapeutic regimens compared
with the control group.23
Self-monitoring of blood glucose is considered a key element
in diabetes care, and it is widely recommended. This activity
helps patients adjust their insulin dosage, diet, and exercise
regimens, and it aids in detecting and preventing hypoglycemia.24
A study conducted in South India on diabetic patients knowledge and beliefs about the disease and their practices in terms
of diet, medications, and self-monitoring of blood glucose levels
revealed a large gap between knowledge and action. The findings illustrate the need for increased efforts in the area of
patient education.25 In our study, patients were taught the
importance of self-monitoring.
It is essential to dedicate an appropriate amount of time to
achieve improved patient counseling. The amount of time spent
generally depends on factors such as a patients interest, the
number of medications needed, the seriousness of the patients
condition, and the pharmacists work schedule. Lack of time is
one of the barriers to providing counseling.26 It is also necessary
to spend more time counseling certain patient groups, such as
those who need multiple drugs, those who have complicated
drug regimens, and the elderly. However, our study did not
consider these factors to be barriers to providing counseling.
The need for teaching diabetic patients about their illness is
obvious, because the success of the diabetes treatment depends
on lifestyle modifications in addition to the drug therapy. Patient
P&T 391
Group
Test (n = 19)
10 4
Control (n = 27) 12 4
14 4*
12 4
14 5
12 3
15 2
12 3
compliance is another paramount factor in treatment that warrants increased education and counseling.
STUDY LIMITATIONS
Our study did not evaluate the impact of patient counseling
on compliance with treatment. More reliable methods such as
determining glycosylated hemoglobin might be a better parameter to evaluate the extent of patient compliance.
Our sample size was very small. Confounding factors, such
as counseling obtained from other sources, were not taken into
account.
CONCLUSION
Our study identified diabetic patients, and counseling was
provided to them in their local language. The results demonstrate the importance of consultations with a pharmacist in a
hospital setting.The improved knowledge scores clearly indicate
the benefits of pharmacist-provided counseling, although they
did not translate into improved attitudes or practice outcomes.
In summary, we have seen that in developing countries such
as India, pharmacists have an immense responsibility for educating hospitalized patients with chronic diseases like diabetes.
Strategies should be implemented so that improved patient
knowledge about diabetes treatment can lead to better attitudes
and outcomes.
REFERENCES
1. Anderson-Harper HM, Berger BA, Noel R. Pharmacists predisposition to communicate, desire to counsel, and job satisfaction.
Am J Pharm Educ 1992;56:252258.
2. Pharmacy communication. In: Hassan WE, ed. Hospital Pharmacy,
5th ed. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger; 1986:154159.
3. Popovich NG. Ambulatory patient care. In: Gennaro AR, ed. Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy, 19th ed. Easton, PA:
Mack Publishing; 1995:16951719.
4. Jepson MH. Patient compliance and counseling. In: Collet DM,
Aulton ME, eds. Pharmaceutical Practice. Edinburgh: Churchill
Livingstone; 1990:346349.
5. Dooley M, Lyall H, Galbriath K, et al. SHPA standards of practice
for clinical pharmacy. In: Society of Hospital Pharmacists of
Australia (SHPA). Practice Standards and Definitions, 1996:211.
6. Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101508,
and 4401, 104 stat 1388, 1990.
392 P&T
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
o Once monthly
Rarely
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