• Betul Tosun, Fatma Ilknur Cinar, Zeliha Topcu, Burcu Masatoglu, Nurten Ozen, Gulcan Bagcivan, Ozge Kilic, Canan Demirci, Ayten Altunbas, and Alper Sonmez.
• Hasan Kalyoncu University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Gaziantep, Turkey.
• Afr Health Sci. 2019 Mar 1; 19 (1): 1628-1637.

AimThis study was conducted to evaluate the insulin pen application knowledge and skills of patients with diabetes.MethodsIn our descriptive study, 200 patients with diabetes were asked to present the insulin pen injection technique on a mannequin and the steps of the pen injection implementation were noted on the data collection form as correct/incorrect by researchers.ResultsMore than 3 out of 4 (79.5%) of the participants were using the insulin pen or the cartridge after the expiry date, 70.5% were not rotating the injection site, and 63.0% were massaging the skin after injection. Injection sites complications were significantly more in those who were using the insulin pen or the cartridge after the expiry date, those who don't know the proper length of the needle and the possible body injection sites, those who don't rotate the injection sites, those who massage after injection, and those who don't use a new needle at each injection (p<0.05).ConclusionThis study put into light some failures in the knowledge and skills of patients with diabetes regarding insulin pen use. Nurses should provide patients with diabetes an effective and repetitive training concerning insulin pen use.

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