KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF TYPE 2 DIABETES PREVALENCE AND TREATMENT AMONG STUDENTS AT EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY

Abstract

The present study will investigate the basic understanding of type 2 diabetes treatment and prevalence among college students in Eastern North Carolina. The data gathered could promote programs that more effectively educate college students on the treatments of diabetes. A Qualtrics Survey was used to collect participant’s data and statistics were used to assess the participant’s knowledge of type 2 diabetes treatment. The researchers proposed that there would be a considerable lack of understanding regarding diabetes prevalence and treatment among students at East Carolina University. The study found that the majority of college students did not have a thorough understanding of type 2 diabetes treatment. The lack of knowledge persisted across different hometown regions, family history, academic status, and diagnosis status. There was a significant difference between the knowledge of treatment plans between science and math-related majors and literature, language, and social science majors (P< 0.05). There was also a lack of knowledge of the comorbidities of high insulin levels. This study identifies gaps in knowledge among students at East Carolina University and hopes that future programs could be implemented to increase the public’s understanding of type 2 diabetes.