Foot self-care behaviours among type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients attending clinics at Teaching Hospital Batticaloa

Abstract

Diabetes Mellitus is a metabolic disorder which leads to multiple long-term complications in the human body including Diabetic foot ulcers. One-third of people with Diabetes Mellitus develop foot ulcers during their lifetime. It is estimated that 18.6 million people have been affected with diabetic foot ulcers globally. However, Diabetic foot ulcer and its complications can be preventable through promoting foot self-care behaviour practices among people with Diabetes Mellitus. This study focuses on foot self-care behaviours among people with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus attending clinics at Teaching Hospital Batticaloa. The purpose of the study is to assess the foot self-care behaviours among people with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus attending clinics at Teaching Hospital Batticaloa. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted among Diabetic Mellitus patients attending medical, surgical and diabetic clinics at Teaching Hospital Batticaloa. After obtaining written consent from the participants, the adapted Nottingham assessment for Functional Foot care questionnaire by an expert panel was utilized to collect information on foot self-care behaviour. Patients’ foot self-care behaviors were measured according to their individual scores. The collected data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciencesversion 26 (SPSS-version 26) software and univariate and bivariate analysis were utilized to answer the objectives. There was a significant association between foot self-care behaviors and the following background characteristics: type of clinics, sex, education, occupation, residence, habit of smoking, habit of alcohol consumption and Diabetic Foot Ulcer state. Only 2.1% of type 2 Diabetic Mellitus patients (n=5) were having good foot self-care practices, while majority of them were having poor foot self-care practices (50.4%, n=121). 47.5% of the participants’ foot self-care behaviors were satisfactory (n=114). Among the patients, those without Diabetic Foot Ulcer has high foot self-care behavior score (Mean-41.91) while current Diabetic Foot Ulcer patients without past history were having least score (Mean-35.42). Patients with past history and current Diabetic Foot Ulcer patients with past history were second and third respectively (Mean-40.63, 37.64). Foot self-care behaviors among type 2 Diabetic Mellitus patients were poor, especially people with current active foot ulcers have poor foot self-care behaviours compared to people do not get foot ulcers at anytime in their life. Implementing structured foot self-care education could bring better outcomes among people with Diabetic Mellitus.