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How People Feel About Diabetes When They Don't Have It
morefocus recently surveyed people's attitudes towards diabetes. Nearly 700 answered questions regarding what they know and how they feel about the condition. Eight-three percent of respondents have one or more family member with diabetes.
Interestingly, 30 percent of people look to health websites before talking to their doctor when seeking out information about diabetes. Unsurprisingly, people with at least one diabetic family member tended to be more informed: 67 percent claimed to be satisfied with their knowledge of diabetes. For those with a stronger knowledge of diabetes, medical journals tended to serve as their primary source of information.
People's biggest concern about possibly having diabetes revolved around potential long-term complications (24 percent). However, the second most popular anxiety lay in respondents not being able to eat what they might want. In fact, food and eating tended to be a general concern for most people. Seventy-four percent admitted that they would be more likely to eat at a restaurant that listed the nutritional information of its dishes on the menu.
morefocus' survey found that people without diabetes that have at least one diabetic in their family tend to be well informed, gathering their knowledge primarily from health websites. While they are primarily concerned about possible complications, dietary restrictions also proved to be an anxiety that would ultimately play a role in the restaurants people would chose.
Detailed Results
|
Attitudes Towards Diabetes Survey |
| Question/Answer |
Responses |
Percentage |
| Has one or more of your family members been diagnosed with diabetes? |
585 |
| Yes |
487 |
83.25% |
| No |
98 |
16.75% |
|
| Who was diagnosed with diabetes? (Select all that apply) |
486 |
| Child |
95 |
19.55% |
| Spouse |
96 |
19.75% |
| Parent |
207 |
42.59% |
| Grandparent |
136 |
27.98% |
| Brother/Sister |
70 |
14.40% |
| Aunt/Uncle/Cousin |
128 |
26.34% |
| Other |
43 |
8.85% |
|
| I take better care of myself since my family member was diagnosed with diabetes. |
477 |
| Strongly Agree |
95 |
19.92% |
| Agree |
136 |
28.51% |
| Moderately Agree |
125 |
26.21% |
| Neither Agree nor Disagree |
67 |
14.05% |
| Moderately Disagree |
22 |
4.61% |
| Disagree |
24 |
5.03% |
| Strongly Disagree |
8 |
1.68% |
|
| I appreciate my own life more since my family member was diagnosed with diabetes. |
469 |
| Strongly Agree |
109 |
23.24% |
| Agree |
155 |
33.05% |
| Moderately Agree |
90 |
19.19% |
| Neither Agree nor Disagree |
81 |
17.27% |
| Moderately Disagree |
11 |
2.35% |
| Disagree |
20 |
4.26% |
| Strongly Disagree |
3 |
0.64% |
|
| What is your primary source for information about diabetes? (Select one) |
573 |
| Family/Friends |
87 |
15.18% |
| Health web sites |
164 |
28.62% |
| Doctor |
120 |
20.94% |
| Diabetic counseling |
41 |
7.16% |
| Books |
54 |
9.42% |
| Newspapers/Magazines |
35 |
6.11% |
| Television news |
10 |
1.75% |
| Medical journals |
62 |
10.82% |
|
| If you had diabetes, what do you think would be the biggest inconvenience? (Select one) |
553 |
| Needing to take medication (pills, insulin, etc.) |
100 |
18.08% |
| Needing to test blood sugar |
73 |
13.20% |
| Needing to exercise |
11 |
1.99% |
| Not being able to eat what I want |
118 |
21.34% |
| Working my daily schedule around diabetes |
40 |
7.23% |
| Worrying about a hypoglycemic episode |
30 |
5.42% |
| Worrying about possible complications |
132 |
23.87% |
| Costs of consumable supplies |
50 |
9.04% |
|
| Would you be embarrassed if a diabetic non-family member tested their blood sugar levelsin front of you? |
562 |
| Yes |
15 |
2.67% |
| No |
528 |
93.95% |
| Not Sure |
19 |
3.38% |
|
| An estimated 18.2 million Americans have diabetes, and 5.2 million of them don’t even know it. In your opinion, should the government provide free diabetic screenings to anyone who wants one? |
550 |
| Yes |
475 |
86.36% |
| No |
75 |
13.64% |
|
| Would you be willing to approve a tax increase to support free diabetic screenings? |
463 |
| Yes |
221 |
47.73% |
| No |
67 |
14.47% |
| Not Sure |
175 |
37.80% |
|
| I am satisfied with my knowledge about diabetes. |
550 |
| Strongly Agree |
67 |
12.18% |
| Agree |
137 |
24.91% |
| Moderately Agree |
174 |
31.64% |
| Neither Agree nor Disagree |
47 |
8.55% |
| Moderately Disagree |
64 |
11.64% |
| Disagree |
48 |
8.73% |
| Strongly Disagree |
13 |
2.36% |
|
| I would be more likely to eat at a restaurant if they offered a menu thatlisted the carbohydrate, calorie, fat, sodium and cholesterol contents of their food. |
545 |
| Strongly Agree |
155 |
28.44% |
| Agree |
157 |
28.81% |
| Moderately Agree |
92 |
16.88% |
| Neither Agree nor Disagree |
87 |
15.96% |
| Moderately Disagree |
19 |
3.49% |
| Disagree |
28 |
5.14% |
| Strongly Disagree |
7 |
1.28% |
|
| What is your gender? |
536 |
| Male |
140 |
26.12% |
| Female |
396 |
73.88% |
|
| What is your age? |
549 |
| 17 or younger |
25 |
4.55% |
| 18-24 |
49 |
8.93% |
| 25-44 |
180 |
32.79% |
| 45-64 |
248 |
45.17% |
| 65 or older |
47 |
8.56% |
