Conhecimentos e práticas sobre a prevenção do Diabetes Mellitus do tipo 2 entre os alunos (14-19 anos) da Escola Secundária Samora Machel, na cidade do Chimoio, província de Manica, Moçambique

Abstract

Title: Knowledge and practices on the prevention of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus among students (14-19 years old) at Samora Machel Secondary School, Chimoio city, Manica province, Mozambique. 2022. Introduction: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM2) it is a global public health problem, being a great challenge and with high costs for the health system in the world. Knowledge about adopting a healthy lifestyle in adolescence is the main tool to prevent DM2 in adulthood, due to vulnerability to injuries in this age group. Objectives: to evaluate the knowledge and practices on the prevention of DM2 among adolescent students from the aforementioned School, city and country. Methodology: descriptivecross-sectional study, with a quantitative approach, with a non-probabilistic sample of the population of students (14-19 years old) at the School in question, stratified by level of education (basic and medium). The interviews with the students were carried out from 10 to 31 of March, 2022, in a classroom and individually, with a questionnaire with closed questions. The questionnaire used was validated by other studies and incorporated some modifications to adapt to adolescents. It consists of two parts, one addressing knowledge about DM2 (7 questions) and the other about a healthy lifestyle (23 questions), assigning a weight to each type of response, the sum of which establishes the final score. According to the score range, students were classified into five categories: excellent, very good, good, regular and needs improvement. Data collection began after approval by the Bioethics Committee of Mozambique (opinion number 70/CNBS/2021) and with the authorization of the School. Results: the results indicated that no student achieved an excellent level, 51.8% were classified in the very good/good categories and 48.2% in the regular/needs to improve knowledge and practices. Regarding education, 60.3% of high school students had adequate scores (very good/good), compared to 46.2% of basic school students (p<0.01). The lifestyle acquired in adolescence tends to be maintained in adulthood, policies that encourage the acquisition of healthy habits should be implemented in early stages of development, particularly in adolescence.