Investigating the condition of medical counseling and some of clinical aspects for fasting in holy month of Ramadan from the perspective of diabetic and hypertensive patients

Introduction: although fasting has manifold health benefits, at times, it might put patients’ health at risk. therefore, it is mandatory for physicians to have adequate information regarding clinical aspects of fasting, so that they can offer sound medical advice. in this study, the condition of physician consultation about fasting was analyzed from the perspective of patients.methods: in this descriptive, analytical, cross-sectional study, a valid self-regulated questionnaire (cronbach’s alpha of 0.76) was completed by diabetic and hypertensive patients referring to physicians in ramadan during 2012-2013, in isfahan. the questionnaire included items on patient satisfaction with the quality of physician consultation about fasting, disease treatment during ramadan, and incidence of symptoms while fasting. the patients completed the questionnaire after physician visit. independent t-test, chi-square, regression analysis, and one-way anova were performed, using spss version 19.results: overall, 285 patients including 199 (69.8%) females and 86 (30.2%) males were selected. the mean score of satisfaction with physician consult was 70.50±13.23. the highest score (75.36±14.16) referred to physician consult, and the lowest score (66.09±18.84) to patient assessment by physician. additionally, the mean score of patients' satisfaction with specialists was higher than that of general practitioners (p<0.0001). the mean score of patient satisfaction was not significantly correlated with participants’ education, age, sex, disease, or disease duration. moreover, in almost one-third of the cases, ramadan fasting was not discussed during physician visits. besides, the most common symptoms during fasting were fatigue and headache.conclusion: the quality of medical consultation in ramadan in isfahan was relatively acceptable; however, it is still far from being satisfactory. it seems to be essential for physicians to pay more attention to consultation on fasting in ramadan.