CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

This report titled Assessing Knowledge and attitude on Diabetes prevention among Adults in the Great Soppo community is divided into five chapters. Chapter one consist of orientation to the study that clearly highlight among others the background, problem statement, purpose, objectives, research questions and operational definition of terms. Chapter two focuses on literature review, chapter three talks about research design and methodology, chapter four explains presentation and interpretation of result and chapter five talks about discussion, conclusion, and recommendation.

Diabetes mellitus affects millions of people worldwide and it related complications continue to be of great concern. The pandemic is rapidly spreading in developing countries and particularly affecting poor population in sub- Saharan Africa (International Diabetes Federation, 2015). The prevalence of diabetes among blacks has increased during the past 30 years and blacks are 1.7 times as likely to develop diabetes as White. Among blacks age 20 and older, about 2.3 million have diabetes. Black with diabetes are more likely than non- Hispanic White to develop diabetes and to experience greater disability from diabetes related complication such as amputation, adult blindness, kidney failure and increase risk of heart disease and stroke. Death rate for blacks with diabetes are 27 percent higher than for white (Sobngwi, 2011).

  According to Cypress (2015), an individual with diabetes the body either does not make enough insulin or cannot use its own insulin as well as it should. This causes sugar to build up in blood this explains why many people refer to diabetes as’’ sugar’’. Diabetes usually present with signs and symptoms like frequent urination, excessive thirst, unexplained weight loss, extreme hunger, sudden vision change. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United State. Diabetes is a major health problem and is a non- modifiable risk factor to stroke. It is also link to hypertension. The worldwide increase in type two diabetes mellitus is becoming a major health problem in many communities. The lack of many individuals’ knowledge about how to live a healthy life style in order to reduce the chances of having diabetes put many people at risk of developing diabetes. Hence because of the lack of knowledge of many individuals’ and communities about what diabetes is all about makes many people to stands a greater risk of developing diabetes (especially type two diabetes) that has a lot to do with life style modification which many individuals’ do not practice due to lack of knowledge ( Bardsley;2015)

1.2 Problem Statement

 Diabetes mellitus (DM) consists of a group of common non-communicable diseases, affecting the health of a significant proportion of the population throughout the world. Although DM was once considered as a rare disease in sub-Saharan Africa, over 12 million people of the continent were estimated to have the disease. In the year 2010, about 330,000 people were estimated to die from diabetes-related conditions . It is predicted that sub-Saharan Africa will acquire the highest number of people with DM of any region in the world, reaching up to 23.9 million by 2030 . Indicating that there is a need for people to know about DM prevention. A lot of studies have been written on the prevalence and risk factors of DM, although very little has been written on the knowledge that people have on DM prevention.

1.3 Research Questions

– Do individuals in Great Soppo community have adequate knowledge on diabetes and prevention.

– Individual’s attitude towards Diabetes Mellitus prevention in Great Soppo community.

 1.4 Objectives

1.4.1 General objective

– To assess the knowledge and attitude of adults in the Great Soppo community.

1.4.2 Specific Objective

1. – To assess the level of knowledge of adults on Diabetes mellitus prevention in the Great Soppo community.
2. To determine if the level of education affects their knowledge on diabetes
3. To determine their attitude towards the prevention of diabetes mellitus.

1.5 Rational

Lack of knowledge on diabetes can lead to so many complications but if people are knowledgeable on diabetes it can help people manage their diet properly, go for checkups to know their blood sugar level and to manage it earlier if diagnose of having diabetes early.