Approach to hyperglycemia in children in family medicine practice and the place of type 1 diabetes diagnostic treatment follow-up guide in primary healthcare

Aim: Type 1 Diabetes is frequently seen in childhood, and it protects children from serious complications such as diabetic ketoacidosis, if its findings are noticed early by families, diagnosed and diagnosed more quickly by physicians, and early treatment is started. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the extent to which the Type 1 Diabetes Diagnosis and Treatment Follow-up Guide in Primary Health Care Institutions, which was written to inform primary care physicians, is followed by family physicians and to evaluate their approach to children with hyperglycemia. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive and cross-sectional study, a face-to-face interview was conducted at family medicine congresses before the pandemic and a remote access survey was conducted through family medicine associations after the pandemic. In addition to descriptive questions in the questionnaire, an evaluation was made by asking 5 questions evaluating the definition and approaches of physicians for hyperglycemia. Those who gave correct answers to 3 questions or more were considered successful. Findings: 708 family physicians voluntarily participated in our study and answered our survey questions. Of the participants, 346 (49%) were female and 362 (51%) were male. When examined in terms of branches, 66% were Family Physicians (General Practitioners), 21.2% were Family Medicine Assistants, 12.43% were Family Medicine Specialists, 0.42% were Family Physicians (Family Physicians from Other Branch Specialists). No statistically significant difference was found between successful and unsuccessful ones when the duration of the profession and the status of being a specialist-practitioner-assistant were evaluated (p>0.05). 38,3% of general practitioners, 35,2% of family medicine specialists and 28% of family medicine assistants were successful. Considering their professional experience, 0-5 years 31,1%, 5-10 years 31,4%, 11-20 years 35,7%, >20 years 40,4% were successful (p>0.05). It was observed that those who read the diagnosis and treatment follow-up guide prepared for primary care were more successful than those who did not, and those who received postgraduate education were more successful than those who did not (p=0.004, p=0.027). No statistically significant difference was found between the branches (p=0.071) and experience (p=0.206) of those with good education. A statistically significant difference was found between knowledge-attitude (p=0.004), experience (p=0.003) and branch (p<0.001) according to the state of being aware of the follow-up guide. Difference was detected (p=0.027). Result: The rate of benefiting from the guide prepared by family physicians working in primary health care institutions and the education rates they received for hyperglycemia were very low, and in parallel with these data, it was observed that family physicians lacked knowledge and experience in their approach to pediatric patients with hyperglycemia. We think that within the scope of health services that should be provided in primary care, steps should be taken to strengthen the system, especially training and consultancy services, and a new action plan should be created. Keywords: Type 1 Diabetes, Family Physician, Guide, Level of Knowledge, Hyperglycemia