The relationship between the level of education and accuracy of insulin injection techniques in DM patients with measurement of HbA_1c values

Insulin therapy is a major part of diabetes treatment. The insulin injection technique must be done accurately and needs a professional process for diabetes mellitus (DM) patients. The aim of this research is to evaluate the relationship of education level pertaining to the accuracy of insulin injection techniques through HbA_1c values. We used a cross-sectional study with sampling using a purposive technique according to the inclusion criteria: diagnosed with DM and using insulin therapy with/without a combination of oral antidiabetic drugs, having HbA_1c levels of data ± 3 months from the time of study, willing to become research respondents by signing informed consent. The study was conducted by filling out the questionnaire Forum for Injection Technique and Therapy Expert Recommendation (FITTER) and interviews. Fifty subjects with primary education were able to perform insulin injection techniques with 20% accuracy while subjects with secondary education level showed 14% accuracy, and higher education 2%. All of these results had HbA_1c values > 6.5%. 100 % of the subjects were provided with educational resources and 78% had a care-giver at home. Statistical analysis of correlation between levels of education with the accuracy of the insulin injection technique was carried out through the Somers' correlation test (p = 0.81, r = -0.03). This study shows there is no relationship between the level of education and the accuracy of insulin injection techniques through HbA_1c values. This might occur due to several factors such as information sources and caregiver's practice.