ASSESSMENT OF HERBAL OIL EFFICIENCY AND KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, AND PRACTICE STUDY REGARDING DIABETIC NEUROPATHY: A PILOT STUDY

Abstract

 Objective: The objective of the current study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAPs) regarding diabetes and foot care in diabetic and non-diabetic participants as well as to detect the efficiency of nerve heed herbal oil (NHHO) prepared by Diabport Pvt. Ltd. on pain associated with nerves.Methods: A statistical analysis of sociodemographic profile and KAP of 180 diabetic and non-diabetic participants (located in an old-age home, Kalyanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India) toward diabetes and foot care was performed. Samples of NHHO were suggested to apply for nerve pain.Results: Statistical analysis of sociodemographic profile revealed that diabetes was independent of age, gender, and education level (p>0.5) while directly correlated to smoking (p<0.5). Dependent t-test explained the indirect correlation between knowledge and attitude (p<0.001) and knowledge and practice (p<0.05), which means that poor knowledge associated with poor practice. Chi-square test revealed that diabetic participants were having more knowledge (χ2(1)= 25.14, p<0.001) and attitude (χ2(1)= 107.45, p<0.001) toward diabetes and foot care, while there was no difference in terms of practice (χ2(1)= 3.10, p>0.05) in both the groups of participants. NHHO was found to be effective (84.21%) in reducing initial symptoms of diabetic neuropathy.Conclusion: It can be concluded that there is an urgent need to aware people regarding diabetes and its complications and provide continuous foot care education to patients. In this pilot study, NHHO was found to be effective as well as safe to treat nerve and joint pain.