(2000) SCHOOL COMMUNITIES KNOWLEDGE IN CHILD DIABETES MELLITUS TYPE 1

摘要

The incidence of type 1 diabetes in children has increased significantly in Portugal. Children spendmuch of their day in school. The long association between children, teachers and other school staff isgreat. So it is easy for teachers and other actors to observe changes in their behavior and in theirphysical appearance, so these professionals must be trained to recognize the early signs andsymptoms of adverse diabetes and take the right decision about what to do.What are the knowledge of professionals in the school community of the elementary and secondaryeducation of central region of Portugal on diabetes type 1 in children?This is a cross-sectional descriptive study on the expertise of professionals in the educationalcommunity on children with diabetes mellitus type 1 in a sample of 382 workers in the educationalcommunity (teachers and operating technicians), aged between 24 and 74 years old, average age of43,05 years (SD=8,675).Data collection was conducted through a questionnaire distributed to professionals in the educationalcommunity about the knowledge of diabetes mellitus type 1 in children. The level of knowledge aboutdiabetes has good reliability and internal consistency for the study with a Alpha Cronbach value of0,907.Participants are mostly teachers 68,8%, holders of higher education (78,5%) residing in urban areas(82,3%) and 68,1% reported knowing someone with diabetes mellitus type 1. In total 39,3% of theparticipants have deficit of knowledge on diabetes mellitus type 1, 25,7% have reasonable knowledgeand 35,1% have good knowledge. It is highlighted by inferential analysis that female, residents in theurban area and operating technicians showed significantly better knowledge of diabetes (p=0,023,p=0,033, p=0,009), respectively.We conclude that there is a deficit of knowledge concerning diabetes in children, verifying the need topromote training and educational activities to education professionals and others working with children