The education of diabetic patients about their foot self-care : Our experiences in the Unit of Diabetic foot in the University of Malaga.

Abstract

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is currently one of the most prevalent chronic diseases, with rising figures that reflect a pandemic scenario. .The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimated that 366 million people worldwide have DM. The foot is in the core of the problem in patients with DM Furthermore, patients qualified as low-risk can develop complications relatively fast in the absence of good glycemia monitoring and adequate self-care practices. The education of diabetic patients about their foot care is a major issue to avoid complications like amputations and ulcers. Specific tools aimed to assess patient's knowledge in this area are needed. The study was conducted at the University of Malaga (Spain), podiatric clinics and a Diabetic Foot Unit A total of 209 diabetic patients responded to the questionnaire. Of the sample, 108 (51.7%) were females and 101 (48.3%) were males. The average age was 61.33 years (±16.74 year), the average duration of the diabetes was 13.44 years (±10.90), the mean glycemia was 134.43 (±40.16), and the mean glycosylated hemoglobin was 7.1 (±1.20) The results of the foot health questionnaire showed the educational level is important in the self-care of the diabetic patients