The Influence of 6-Month Interdisciplinary Accompaniment on Family Caregivers’ Knowledge and Self-Efficacy Regarding Diabetic Wound Care

Abstract

Introduction Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a global health issue. Diabetic wounds have become a severe health complication. Interdisciplinary education and the use of homecare have led to improvements in the health of patients with chronic disease. The family caregiver's knowledge and self-efficacy positively impact the DM patient's self-care in the physical and psychological dimensions. There is still a need for interdisciplinary education to enhance family caregivers’ knowledge and self-efficacy regarding diabetic wound care. Objective To determine the effect of 6 months of interdisciplinary education on family caregivers’ knowledge and self-efficacy regarding diabetic wound care. Methods A quantitative longitudinal study with a quasi-experimental, one-group, pretest–posttest design was conducted. Family caregivers received 6 months of interdisciplinary education regarding diabetic wound care. The Foot Care Confidence Scale (FCCS) was used to measure the family caregivers’ knowledge and self-efficacy regarding diabetic wound care. The dependent samples t test and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used for statistical analysis. Results Sixteen caregivers of patients with diabetic ulcer wounds in the homecare unit participated in this intervention with a 6-month follow-up. Six months of interdisciplinary education significantly increased the family caregivers’ knowledge ( p = 0.001) and self-efficacy ( p = 0.001). However, there was no significant correlation between self-efficacy and gender, age, education level, or duration of wound care ( p = 0.91; 0.93; 0.38; 0.40, respectively). Long-term interdisciplinary education improved caregiver performance across genders, ages, education levels, and wound care experience durations. Conclusion Long-term interdisciplinary education of family caregivers is recommended as one method to enhance the family support system with respect to diabetic ulcer care management. In addition, interprofessional collaboration could be performed to enhance the understanding of healthcare, especially diabetic ulcer care.

Development and validation of an interprofessional collaborative educational module on the self-management of foot for individuals with type II diabetes mellitus

“…36 Providing caregivers with ongoing interdisciplinary education on foot care has bolstered the family support system for managing diabetic ulcers. 37 The present study agrees with the same and adds that ongoing IP education (in the form of modules) on the proper practices of foot care can be more effective in causing a behavioural change among individuals with diabetes and their caregivers towards proper practices of foot care.…”

Fatalism as a Mediator of the Association Between Family Resilience and Self-Management Among Patients with Chronic Wounds in China

“…59 In terms of empowerment, high-resilience families tend to have the knowledge and confidence to identify and establish family-friendly resources and utilize adaptive coping strategies, 55 and contribute to self-efficacy and posttraumatic growth. 19,60 The goal of most family resilience interventions implemented by nurses for patients with CW is to assist empowerment, 19,61 that is, to promote family coping with the disease by providing external resources to enhance family well-being, support family functioning, and adjust family relationships. Family resilience is not only affected by the ability of family members, the availability of family resources and the strength of social support, but is also affected by macrosystems such as ethnic culture and beliefs.…”

“…8,[15][16][17][18] Studies have also underscored the significance of family support in ensuring treatment compliance and concordance with self-care behaviors in individuals with CW. 19,20 Family resilience, which is the capacity, procedure, and adaptation of a family to confront hardship, is considered an important factor in facilitating family caregivers' implementation of long-term care for patients with chronic diseases. 21,22 The concept of family resilience has its roots in the exploration of individual psychological resilience.…”

“…[25][26][27] Although no previous studies have explored the family resilience of patients with CW, relevant studies on family support of patients with CW suggest that family resilience has an impact on selfmanagement of patients with CW, because family resilience has been conceptualized as shared beliefs and support, strong family organization and positive interactions, and utilization of social resources, which are indicative of family support. 28 Wantonoro et al 19 concluded that strengthening the family support system for the management of diabetic ulcer care, such as improving family caregivers' knowledge and self-efficacy through interdisciplinary education, can positively affect the self-care of patients with wounds both physically and psychologically. A recent systematic review by Huang et al 29 suggested that home-based patient or informal caregivers' interventions in managing chronic wounds at home can be effective in improving patient outcomes and changing self-care behavior.…”