ISSN 2522-9400 European Modern Studies Journal Vol 4 No 1 available at journal-ems.com 73 European Modern Studies Journal, 2020, 4(1) Practice of Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose Among Type 2 Diabetic Patients: A Comparative Study at Three Hospitals in Ghana Quartey P., Ohemeng-Dapaah V., Gyabeng E., and Zakari M. Department of Physician Assistantship Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Garden City University College, Ghana Abstract. Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose is an important tool for assessing and improving the quality of diabetes management. Experts recommend active teaching and practice of Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose to achieve glycaemic goals as part of a patient- centred self-management program. The aim of the study was to assess the level of practice of self-monitoring of blood glucose among type 2 diabetes clients at three major hospitals in Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana. After fully explaining the purpose and procedures in the study to the subjects and receiving their consent, a structured questionnaire was used to interview and extract data from the participants. The study population included a total of 238 type 2 diabetes patients (60, 117 and 61; from Kumasi South Hospital, Manhyia Hospital and KNUST Hospital respectively). The results showed that in general, only 68 (28.6%) of the subjects practice self-monitoring whiles 170 (71.4%) do not practice. KNUST hospital had the highest proportion of practice (37.7%) followed by Kumasi South hospital (28.3%) whiles Manhyia hospital had the least (23.9%). The patients were not nervous or scared of practice of SMBG. Religious reasons were also not a barrier to practice of SMBG. There is low practice of SMBG among diabetes patients attending clinic at the three hospitals in the study. There appear to be several reasons that affect the decision to not use SMBGs for testing, including the patients’ lack of awareness concerning the need for glucose testing and not knowing how to do self-monitoring. Key words: Self-monitoring of blood glucose, Diabetes mellitus, Glycaemic control, Ghana Introduction The global prevalence of diabetes among adults over 18 years is about 8.5% with an estimation of over 400 million people currently living with diabetes (WHO, 2016; IDF, 2017). This prevalence is also projected to double by 2030 to 17.6% globally, (Whiting, 2011; Guariguata, 2014; WHO, 2016; IDF, 2017) excluding the undocumented numbers of undiagnosed cases estimated at about 175 million (Beagley et al., 2014; IDF, 2017). In 2016, an estimated 1.6 million deaths were directly caused by diabetes with another 2.2 million deaths attributable to high blood glucose (WHO, 2016) Though the Ghana Health Service is mainly focused on mitigating the deleterious effects of infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) presently contribute significantly to both morbidity and mortality. In sub- Saharan Africa, the estimated number of people currently living with diabetes stands at over 21 million, with approximately half a million diabetes-related deaths (IDF, 2017). Management of blood glucose in diabetic patients remains a big challenge for healthcare providers and patients. Self-monitoring of Blood Glucose (SMBG) is now considered a critical tool for assessing and improving the quality of diabetes management as it promotes patient awareness of their condition and compliance to management strategies and needed adjustments (Karter et al., 2001). It is recommended that for patients who require insulin, SMBG should be performed 2–4 times a day whiles those not on insulin should perform SMBG 2 – 3 times weekly (IDF, 2019). Better glycaemic control has been reported to be associated a higher frequency of SMBG among patients who are able to adjust their treatment regimen (Franciosi et al., 2001). Meta-analysis of SMBG as part of a multi-component management strategy showed a mean