Introduction: Patient education is integral in the management of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), a common pregnancy complication that may cause adverse perinatal outcomes. This study evaluated the effect of diabetes education on the knowledge and attitude among patients with GDM, comparing pre- vs post-diabetes session scores and determining pregnancy outcomes.

Methodology: A one-group pre-test and post-test experimental design study was conducted on 75 patients after one- session diabetes counseling using the Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Knowledge Questionnaire (GDMKQ) and the third version of the Diabetes Attitude Scale (DAS-3).

Results: Of the 75 subjects, 84% exhibited adequate knowledge of diabetes. Post-education, a significant increase in the total scores was seen among those less than 35 years of age (p-value: 0.003), both employed and unemployed (p-value: 0.0.026, 0.047, respectively), with a secondary level of education (p-value: 0.014) and multigravid (p-value: 0.015). An overall median positive attitude score of 3.6 was documented. For neonatal outcomes, no adverse events existed. For maternal outcomes, 17.9% had elevated fasting blood glucose while 7.1% had elevated 2-hour post-glucose tolerance test.

Conclusion: Diabetes education improves patient’s knowledge but not their attitude. Hence, improvement in attitude interventions should be incorporated into the current diabetes education program.

Hanah Go is a fellow of the Philippine College of Physicians and the Philippine College of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism. She obtained her medical degree from the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. She completed her residency training at the Chinese General Hospital, where she also pursued her fellowship in endocrinology. She has authored two original research papers published in the Journal of the ASEAN Federation of Endocrine Societies and the Philippine Journal of Internal Medicine. She is currently practicing as an endocrinologist in the Philippines.