DIABETES MELLITUS;

Objective: To assess the awareness of diabetes in individuals attending Out Patient Department ofGhurki Trust Teaching Hospital. Design: Descriptive study design. Place of Study: Out Patients Department, GhurkiTeaching Hospital, Lahore. Methodology: The study was conducted among a sample of 50 individuals, recruited byconvenience sampling technique. Data was collected, by administering a structured questionnaire, during a two weekperiod in December 2006. Data was presented in the form of tables and graphs. Results: General Awareness ofDiabetes Mellitus in the participants of our study was poor. Only 16% recognized it as a disease of the pancreas while50% considered it to be a disease of other systems. Majority of the respondents (78%) had no idea about the types ofthe disease. When asked about the communicability of diabetes, 76% considered it to be non-communicable, 10%thought it to be communicable. Among the respondents, 78% thought diabetes is inheritable. When asked about itsprevention, 54% considered avoiding sugar as the best way to prevent diabetes, while only 9% believed weightreduction to be important. Regarding the management of diabetes, 40% of respondents considered medication, 27%thought of diet modification as a better way, 18% considered exercise, while only 6% named weight reduction.Conclusion: The participants of the present study lacked awareness of types of diabetes, its mode of inheritance, itsprevention and management.