Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices on Preventive Measures on Diabetic foot Ulcers among Diabetic Patients Attending Primary Medical Care Unit in Yatiyana, Matara

Abstract

Attached

Diabetes mellitus is a major non-communicable metabolic disorder worldwide. With the sedentary life style, prevalence of diabetes is rapidly increasing. Diabetic foot ulcer is a major chronic complication of diabetes. Although Diabetic foot ulceration is a burning problem on the patient and the healthcare system, there is little attention on it. People are not much aware on foot care practices which can be easily prevented with proper knowledge; proper preventive measure. This research will help to assess knowledge, attitude and practices on preventive measures of foot care among the diabetic patients attending the Primary Medical Care Unit in Yatiyana area. A descriptive cross sectional, study was carried out in Primary medical Care Unit in Yatiyana, Matara. Study sample consisted of 330 patients who suffer from diabetes mellitus for more than 2 years without diabetic foot ulcer. Knowledge, attitude and practices on preventive measures on diabetic foot ulcers were assessed using pretested interviewer administrated questionnaire. Questionnaire consisted of ten questions on knowledge of diabetic foot ulcers, six questions for attitude and eleven questions for the foot care practices. Those who scored 75% and above were considered as good, those with a score 50-75% moderate and those who scored less than 50% considered as poor. The mean age were 66.45±11.92 years with majority being more than 60 years old. Majority of study population (57.3%) were females, married (75.8%) and were unemployed (51.8%). Of 330 participants 197 (59.7%) had moderate level of knowledge; 194 (58.8%) had good attitude; but only 131 (39.7%) of study sample (60.3%) had poor foot care practices. This study has highlighted the gaps in the knowledge; attitude and practice of foot care in Diabetic patients and reveals the need for an educational programme to minimize diabetic foot ulcer related complications in future.