Abstract

Background: Diabetes care requires close monitoring and ongoing treatment to minimize related complications. The Arab population in Israel is characterized by high prevalence of diabetes and poor disease control compared to other subpopulations in the region. This study assessed awareness to the disease and self-reported care among Arab persons with diabetes living in northern Israel via examining rates and sequences of ophthalmic examination follow ups and verified questioners.

Methods: The study was carried out at the outpatient ophthalmic clinics in three Arab towns in Israel. A bilingual (Arabic and Hebrew speaking) physician administered an oral survey that accessed information regarding the awareness of patients towards their disease and their self-care. The survey comprised 12 questions relating to definitions, causes, compliance and attitudes towards diabetes. The patients' responses were compared to the data in their medical files.

Results: Participants were 44 men and 56 women. Only 43% acknowledged having diabetes. Twenty (47%) individuals who acknowledged having the disease reported taking their medications regularly, 23 (51%) reported exercising regularly, and 38 (88%) reported visiting an ophthalmologist within the previous year; compared to 0 (0%), 7 (12%) and 38 (67%) respectively of those who did not acknowledge having the disease.

Conclusion: This study showed a very low level of awareness of diabetes among patients diagnosed with the disease, as manifested by complete denial of the disease despite recommendations for treatment and large gaps in understanding. Though ophthalmic visits were relatively better in patients with acceptance and denial there are still cultural and socioeconomic barriers that hinder recognition and care of diabetes among Arab Israelis should be addressed.

Keywords: Diabetes Mellitus; Arab Population in Israel; Disease Awareness

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Citation

Citation: Dvora Pikkel., et al. “Assessing Awareness and Attitudes of the Arab Diabetic Population in Israel towards their Illness Via Ophthalmic Follow Ups and Questioners”.Acta Scientific Ophthalmology 3.8 (2020): 13-19.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Dvora Pikkel., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.