Glycogenic control and associated factors among diabetic patients visiting Adama specialized Hospital, Oromiya, Ethiopia: A facility based cross sectional study

Introduction: Although glycaemic control is essential in diabetes management, evidences are lacking in resource limited settings. Therefore, this study was intended to assess the level of glycaemic control and associated factors among diabetic patients.Methods: The data were collected from 332 diabetic patients in Adama Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia from February to March 2012. A patient was included in the study if he/she was 15 years and above. The data were collected using structured questionnaires; a medical card review and anthropometric measurement was done by trained nurses. SPSS version 16.0 was used to analyze the data.Results: The study revealed that 180 (55.9%) of the respondents were adequately controlled their glycaemic level. The remaining were poorly controlled their glycaemic level. Poor glycaemic control was found among rural residents, type I diabetic patients, older age groups (>46 years), those who consumed alcohol and less restricted simple sugar intake, don’t adhere to their meal time and had been prescribed oral hypoglycaemic drug alone (p<0.05). On the other hand, being physically active, obtaining advice from health workers and self monitoring blood glucose level significantly helped patients to control their gylcaemic level (p<0.05).Conclusions: Significant proportions of diabetic patients were not able to control their glycaemic level and poor diabetic control was mainly found in patients with poor self care practices. Thus, health care providers should deliver individualized patient education and support those with elevated glycaemic level to help them better controls their conditions.Keywords: Diabetic, Glycaemic control, EthiopiaAfr J Health Sci. 2013; 26:302-31