Evaluating diabetic foot care knowledge and practices at education level

Abstract

Diabetic foot is one of the complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Adequate knowledge and practice are an important aspect to control further deteriorating conditions such as ulcers and amputations. Thus, the objective of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the impact of the education levels of diabetic patients on diabetic foot care knowledge and practice. This cross-sectional study with a convenient sampling technique was conducted on 534 patients with diabetes mellitus from public and private care hospitals. The data was collected using a validated, pretested and structured bilingual (Arabic, English) questionnaire. There were 534 patients interviewed, 39.1% of whom were males and 60.9% of whom were females and 61.4% of the patients had had T2DM for over 10 years. There was a significant difference in education levels between the male and female patients (53.8% and 46.2%, P = .001). Furthermore, 83.9% patients were married. The difference in education between the married and the single, divorced, and widowed patients was significant (P = .007). Patients with uncontrolled HbA1c were 2.43 times more likely to have hypertension (RR = 2.43, P = .03), while patients with highly uncontrolled diabetes had 3.1 times more chances of hypertension (RR = 3.1, P = .009). Heart disease prevalence was 3.27 times higher in diabetes patients with uncontrolled HbA1c and 3.37 times higher in patients with highly uncontrolled HbA1c. Patients with diabetes who have been diabetic for more than 10 years have a greater risk of heart disease (RR = 2.1; P = .03). Patients with lower education levels exhibited more diabetic complications compared to patients with higher education levels (P < .05). The present study highlights the importance of education and awareness campaigns targeting diabetic patients, especially those with lower education levels, to improve diabetes control and prevent, or manage, comorbidities. Healthcare providers should also prioritize patient education and medication adherence to improve diabetes management and reduce the risk of complications.