Diabetic Foot Awareness among Diabetic Patients in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Aim of the work: diabetic foot disease(DFD) is diabetic patient's foot affection by ulcers which are accompanied by peripheral vascular disease and/or diabetic neuropathy of the lower limb. Prevalence of diabetic ulcer is ranging from 2%-10%. High rate of lower limb amputation in DFD (More than 15%) and survival rate for undertaken amputation patient are short. Ninety diabetic amputations are performed monthly in Saudi Arabia capital of Riyadh. Identification of DFD and diabetic patient's awareness of DFD and how to take care of it will reduce the incidence of more complications like amputation. This study aimed to evaluate knowledge, education, attitude and practice with diabetic foot among diabetic patients all over Saudi Arabia. Patients and Method: cross-sectional study directed among the diabetic clinic visitors in Primary Health Care Centers (PHCs s). Selection of 55 PHCs was done by random sampling. Ten diabetic patients were randomly selected from each PHCs and collecting of data was done by interviews. Research questionnaire contains three parts; first part is asking about demographic data; second part is about data that are focusing on diabetes and its related questions and last part is the main part which asking about diabetic foot. Results: 519 diabetic patients were participated in this study. Only 180 participants were complaining of diabetic complications (34.7%). Most of participants (55.1%) get high score 7-8 out of 8 questions in Knowledge. Although, there were 166 persons (32%) who couldn't reach full score in attitude evaluation. There was a large percentage of our participants (69%) had very low score 0-2 out of 6 in assessment of previous education of diabetic foot. More than half of participants (56.5%) had score 6-10 out of 15 in evaluation of practice with diabetic foot. Conclusion: diabetic foot in Saudi Arabia is existing, even amputations and other diabetic foot complications were also present. Diabetic patients have good knowledge and attitude toward diabetic foot. Education about diabetic foot and practice is still weak.

Assessment of Knowledge toward Complications of Diabetic Septic Foot among Diabetics Patients in Saudi Arabia

“…The majority of subjects had adequate knowledge about the complications of the diabetic feet diseases and this was constituent with the study of Al-Hariri (17) in Al-Dammam City, KSA where a good and favorable knowledge was present among the most of the diabetic patients toward the diabetic foot care and complications. The same results indicated a good knowledge about diabetic foot care and complications was found among the diabetic subjects in primary health care facilities in KSA (21) . However, in South Africa, the awareness of participants about the diabetic foot complications was suboptimal among most of the participants (22) .…”

Attitude and knowledge about foot care among diabetic patients in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

“…Data collection was done by the investigator using a structured questionnaire in the Arabic language. The set of closed type questions were developed from the literature review of similar objectives[1011121314151617] and were tested for its reliability and validity with a Cronbach's alpha 0.86. The questionnaire contained three parts: (1) demographic profile of the patients, (2) six questions on knowledge and seven questions on attitude toward diabetic foot care, and (3) eight questions on the practice of diabetic foot care.…”

“…A study showed that a large number (>50%) of diabetic patients were found to have poor knowledge of diabetic foot care. [1314] Those who had a higher level of education and who were less than 65-year old had a significantly better score for previous foot care education. [12] Other studies have shown that only 13.3% of the study participants have good knowledge of diabetic foot care.…”

“…[16] Patients who received good education on diabetes and diabetic foot care had better knowledge and had favorable attitudes toward diabetic foot care,[111317] and poor knowledge was associated with poor foot care. [141617]…”

The Effectiveness of Concept Mapping as an Educational Nursing Intervention Strategy to Handle Diabetic Foot: Integrative Review

“…2) Sub-Theme 2 concept map prevention and management of diabetic foot car Concept maps are also useful in highlighting some of the preventive strategies that diabetic patients can utilize to cushion themselves against the risk of developing diabetic foot ulcerations. [21] asserts that broad concepts map highlight preventive measures that enlighten patients such as nail and skin care, blood pressure control, and lifestyle modification. For instance, in nail and skin care, concepts maps offer standard guidelines that inculcate patients the different ways that they can be able to maintain the integrity of their skin [18].…”