Abstract
Background
Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder requiring effective self-management to prevent complications such as stroke, neuropathy, and nephropathy. Nurses play a pivotal role in diabetes care and education; however, limited evidence exists regarding the impact of structured educational interventions on their knowledge in Pakistan.
Aim
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured diabetes education program on the knowledge level of registered nurses working in a tertiary-care public hospital in Karachi.
Methods
A quasi-experimental pre–post study was conducted among 93 registered nurses at Dr. Ruth K.M. Pfau Civil Hospital, Karachi. A single 120-minute educational session was delivered by a diabetes nurse educator. Data were collected using the validated Diabetes Basic Knowledge Tool (DBKT) before and one week after the intervention. Analyses were performed in IBM SPSS Version 23 using the Wilcoxon signed-rank and Chi-square tests, with p < 0.05 considered significant.
Results
Participants were predominantly female (75%), with 57% holding bachelor’s degrees. Pre-intervention median knowledge score was 18 (IQR 15–21), which increased to 24 (IQR 21–27) post-intervention, representing a relative improvement of 33% (z = 6.259, p < 0.0001, r = 0.6). Post-test scores were significantly associated with age (p = 0.015), qualification (p = 0.001), and diabetic status (p = 0.036).
Conclusions
The structured diabetes education session significantly enhanced nurses’ knowledge, highlighting the importance of integrating such programs into continuing nursing education to strengthen clinical competencies and improve patient care outcomes.
Trial registration
Not applicable.
Clinical trial number
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Abbreviations
- DM:
-
Diabetes Mellitus
- DSN:
-
Diabetes Specialist Nurse
- DSME:
-
Diabetes Self-Management Education
- HbA1c:
-
Hemoglobin A1c
- DBKT:
-
Diabetes Basic Knowledge Tool
- SPSS:
-
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences
- WHO:
-
World Health Organization
- CPD:
-
Continuous Professional Development
- IRC:
-
Institutional Review Committee
- DUHS:
-
Dow University of Health Sciences
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the administration of Dr. Ruth K.M. Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi and the study participants for their cooperation. We also acknowledge Dow University of Health Sciences for ethical approval and administrative support.
Funding
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
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Ethics approval and consent to participate
Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee (IRC) of Dow University of Health Sciences (Reference Number: DUHS/DIONAM/2022/18–35; dated 28th December 2022). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants before data collection. Participation was entirely voluntary, and confidentiality and anonymity were maintained throughout the study.
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Not applicable. This manuscript does not contain any individual person’s data in any form.
Author information
Abdullah Khan is a Nursing Instructor at College of Nursing (female) Civil Hospital Karachi, Pakistan, and was an MSN student at the Institute of Nursing & Midwifery, Dow University of Health Sciences during the time of the study.
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No AI tools, including large language models (LLMs), are listed as authors. Any AI assistance was limited to language editing and is disclosed in the Methods section, in accordance with BMC Nursing’s policy.
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The authors declare no competing interests.
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Khan, A., Ali, A. & Khan, A.U. Effectiveness of a diabetes educational intervention on the knowledge level of registered nurses working in a public tertiary care hospital in Karachi: a quasi-experimental study. BMC Nurs (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-026-04984-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-026-04984-3