The Teachers' Knowledge of Type 1 Diabetes in Schools: An Interventional Study

Background: Managing type 1 diabetes in school is a real challenge for teachers, parents, and students themselves. Involving school educators in providing care and support is becoming more of a necessity than a luxury to facilitate access to healthcare services in schools for children with type 1 diabetes. Objectives: Our work aimed to assess the background knowledge of teachers on type 1 diabetes and evaluate the impact of an educational intervention in improving this knowledge. Methods: We included 346 participants working in elementary schools. We collected data on anonymous data sheets. Then, a first pre-coded questionnaire was distributed to the participants to assess their background knowledge of type 1 diabetes. Afterward, a simplified educational session was delivered to them. Subsequently, the same pre-coded questionnaire was distributed for evaluation after education. Results: Around 84% of the participants recognized polyuria and polydipsia as major signs of diabetes. Only 35.3% of them knew the definition of hypoglycemia. Hyperglycemia was identified by 65% of the participants. About 40% believed children cannot exercise, while 55.5% thought taking free sugar before exercise was mandatory. We found a significant correlation between a good level of knowledge and knowing a person with diabetes (aOR=2.66, CI95%: 1.51-4.70, p=0.001). There was a significant improvement in knowledge after the educational intervention (p=0.0001). Conclusion: Our study showed a lack of information about type 1 diabetes among teachers. We also proved the effectiveness of targeted education in correcting misconceptions and encouraging awareness of type 1 diabetes.