Vol. 7, Issue 1, Part B (2025)

Background: This study was conducted in a known diabetic cohort in Southern India to assess the knowledge, practice, and barriers related to the routine laboratory tests required as a part of diabetes management, and the socio-demographic risk of non-uptake of selected routine laboratory tests.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 145 randomly selected participants. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge, practice and barriers in laboratory test follow-up among the diabetic population in the Medchal district. Simple random sampling was done. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data after obtaining informed consent. Data analysis was done using MS-Excel.
Results: It showed that knowledge and practice regarding the tests varied between 29 and 40%. It was also found that 55.9% (95% CI: 47.4 to 64.1%) populations did not do any of the selected tests. Younger age (< 50 years) (aOR: 2.6; 95% CI: 1.3 to 5.5) and lack of formal education (aOR: 2.8; 95% CI: 1.2 to 6.3) were major risk factors for non-uptake of laboratory tests. Insufficient knowledge (75.8%) and inadequate care perception (20%) were the primary perceived barriers.
Conclusion: Significant knowledge and practice gaps regarding routine laboratory tests exist among diabetic patients, particularly young and educationally disadvantaged populations. These gaps necessitate health system strategies to empower patients with adequate knowledge and address systemic barriers for optimal diabetes management.