Diabetes Type II patient care quality in the rural areas of Malekan, Iran

Every year, about 4 million lives are lost due to diabetes. Control of blood glucose may delay the onset and progress of the disease. The present study aimed at evaluating the quality of care given to diabetic patients with medical records in the health homes in the Malekan region. This was a cross-sectional study where 624 patients at ages of 18 to 75 years were chosen through simple random sampling. Patients’ data collection was through questionnaires, records with the family physician, and measurements taken such as height, weight, and blood biochemical factors. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics using SPSS 17. The mean glycohemoglobin level of the patients was 9.4±4.2%. 57.7% of the patients had a glycohemoglobin level over 7.5%. 76.8% of the patients used orally administered drugs while 4.6% of them used IV administered drugs. 80.6% of the patients had at least one visit at the physician’s in the past year. 33% of the patients had a systolic blood pressure over 140 mmHg and 26% had a diastolic pressure over 90 mmHg. 67.7% had a cholesterol level over 200 mg/dl and 59.4% had a triglyceride level over 200 mg/dl. In 27.9% of the patients, HDL level was less than 40 mg/dl and in 9.4% of them, LDL level was over 130 mg/dl. 59% of the patients had a body mass index over 27 kg/m2. The quality of the diabetic patients’ health care in the present study was much lower than standard criteria.