Knowledge profiles about type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus among health professionals and medical students

Abstract

Objetivo: Comparar perfis de conhecimento sobre diabetes mellitus tipos 1 e 2 entre profissionais e estudantes da área da saúde. Metódos: Estudo transversal analítico com abordagem exploratória e amostragem em cadeia. Utilizou-se o instrumento Diabetes Basic Knowledge Test. As análises foram realizadas no RStudio, incluindo estatísticas descritivas, teste t de Student, qui-quadrado, exato de Fisher, d de Cohen, análise de cluster hierárquica e análise de componentes principais. Resultados: Participaram 105 indivíduos (63 profissionais e 42 estudantes), majoritariamente mulheres, pardas e enfermeiras. Estudantes de medicina apresentaram as maiores médias de acertos. As questões sobre prevenção e tratamento tiveram maior taxa de acertos; os maiores erros ocorreram em preparo de insulinas, efeito Somogyi e armazenamento. A análise de cluster revelou três perfis de conhecimento (inicial, intermediário e elevado), corroborado pela dispersão no espaço fatorial da análise de componentes principais, que explicou 17,18% da variância total. A consistência interna foi moderada (alfa = 0,67). Conclusão: Identificaram-se lacunas no conhecimento sobre o manejo do diabetes, inclusive entre profissionais mais experientes, evidenciando a necessidade de capacitação contínua e atualização dos instrumentos educativos conforme diretrizes atuais.

ABSTRACT

Objective: To compare knowledge profiles regarding types 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus among healthcare professionals and students. Methods: Analytical cross-sectional study with an exploratory approach and chain sampling. The Diabetes Basic Knowledge Test was used as the instrument. Analyses were conducted in RStudio and included descriptive statistics, Student’s t-test, chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, Cohen’s d, hierarchical cluster analysis, and principal component analysis (PCA). Results: A total of 105 individuals participated (63 professionals and 42 students), mostly women, of mixed race, and nurses. Medical students showed higher average scores. Questions related to prevention and treatment had the highest accuracy rates; the most frequent errors occurred in insulin preparation, the Somogyi effect, and storage. The cluster analysis identified three knowledge profiles (low, intermediate, and high), which were supported by the distribution of participants in the principal component analysis factor space. The first two principal components explained 17.18% of the total variance. Internal consistency was moderate (alpha = 0.67). Conclusion: Knowledge gaps in diabetes management were identified, even among more experienced professionals, highlighting the need for ongoing training and updating of educational tools according to current guidelines.