Foot care knowledge, attitudes and practices among patients with diabetic foot and amputation in St. Kitts and Nevis

The purpose of this study was to identify the knowledge, attitudes and practices for the prevention of diabetic foot in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2. This study was based on a cross-sectional survey conducted in two Family Health Units, in the city of Picos - PI, Brazil, with 85 diabetics of both sexes, by means of a semi-structured Knowledge, Attitude and Practice questionnaire. There was a predominance of females in the study (62.4%). On the topic of foot care, 49.4% had no knowledge on hygiene or what to observe in their feet. In relation to nail care, 56.5% were unaware of the correct way to cut nails. Regarding attitudes, 80% were willing to engage in self-care. In terms of practice, results showed that activities such as washing, drying, moisturizing and massaging were not executed together. It is therefore necessary to develop educational strategies to create awareness, both for diabetics and health professionals, on the effective prevention of diabetic foot.

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A STUDY ON KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, AND PRACTICES FOR THE PREVENTION OF DIABETIC FOOT IN RURAL TERTIARY CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL

International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences ◽

10.22159/ijpps.2017v9i9.20114 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. 138

Author(s):

Gopal Teli ◽

B. G. Ponnappa

Keyword(s):

Diabetic Foot ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Self Care ◽

Research Centre ◽

Care Practice ◽

Diabetic Patients ◽

Foot Care ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Attitudes And Practices ◽

The Mean

Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of diabetic patients regarding care of their own feet.Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in the inpatient department of surgery at Adichunchanagiri hospital and research centre, B. G. Nagara, Karnataka, India from 1st Nov. 2016 to 31st Dec. 2016. The relation between gender and knowledge, attitude and practices of people with diabetes patients were compared by using the Chi-square test at 95% confidence interval at p<0.05.Results: Out of 51 patients, 72.54% were male and 27.46% female and 45.1% of the patients were in the age range 61-80 y. The mean SD of the age was 60.49±14.02. The mean SD of body weight of the patient was 66.17±8.54. The majority of the patients 45.1% were farmers and 41.7% were illiterate. Most of them did not know the practice of correct foot hygiene (39.22%) and what abnormalities observe in their feet (66.67%). We found that 90.2% patients were engaged in foot self-care practice and more than half of them (54.1%) always inspected their footwear before using it. Interestingly, more women were involved in foot care (100%) as compared to men (86.46%) but statistically not significant (p=0.147).Conclusion: We found that patients were not having sufficient knowledge about the correct hygiene of the foot, what abnormalities to observe in their feet and about ideal footwear. Even though females were showing interest towards self-care examination and foot care practice, it is essential that all the diabetic patients must be educated about the knowledge, attitude and foot self-care practice to prevent diabetic foot related complications.

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