Profile of diabetes health care at Benghazi Diabetes Centre, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

The aim of this study was to assess the standards of care and patients’ knowledge and practices at Benghazi Diabetes Centre, the largest diabetes registry in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. A sample of 805 attending patients was interviewed over 2 months in 2002. Overall, 48.3% had never had blood pressure checked and 14.2% had never had a fundus examination and none had ever had glycosylated haemoglobin estimation. Only 2.4% of type 1 diabetics used a glucometer and 8.0% of all diabetics used urine sticks. Many patients were not compliant with treatment and were ignorant about hypoglycaemia symptoms or the complications of diabetes. Better continuing care and better education is needed for diabetic patients in this clinic.