Effectiveness Of Foot Care Practice Tool On Diabetes Control Among Diabetic Patients With Risk For Foot Ulcers In South India

Introduction: Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is very susceptible to infection, which rapidly spreads in the foot and ultimately leads to amputation. Diabetic foot infection (DFI) is a serious threat to public health around the world because it can lead to death. The aim of this study was to design a foot care practice tool and evaluate the effectiveness on diabetics in terms of knowledge, skill and hemoglobin A1c.Methods: An experimental pretest -posttest study design was used for this study. A total of 200 diabetics participated in this study in which 100 diabetics in the control group and 100 diabetics in the experimental group.Results: The present study findings show that 48.1 % improvement in foot care knowledge in the experimental group and 7.1% improvement in the control group. Experimental group showed 0.46 % reduction in HbA1C level comparing to a 0.05% reduction in HbA1C in the control group.Conclusions: This study showed an increase in the foot care knowledge and skill of diabetics after the intervention and drastic reduction in HbA1C in the experimental group compared to the control group. The study conveys a strong message to diabetes health care providers about the critical need for foot care awareness programmes among diabetics.