Knowledge and Practice Regarding Foot Care Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes is a chronic illness associated with higher rates of morbidity and mortality. Much of the care plan for this disease is interwoven with the daily life behaviors, thus diabetic individuals are responsible for control and management of disease. Objective of this paper is to assess the knowledge and practice regarding foot care and prevalence of foot problems among patient with type 2 Diabetic Mellitus. Methodology: 120 patients with type II diabetes mellitus aged between 20- 60 years of age were included in the study. Structured interview schedules and inflows 60- second Diabetic foot screen checklist were used for data collection. Results and Discussion:9% of people are recommended for foot screening every 6 months. 77% of patients had inadequate knowledge regarding diabetic foot care. 22% of patients had inadequate knowledge regarding diabetic foot care. Mean knowledge score was 30.075 & standard deviation 5.461. Mean practice score was 10.775 and standard deviation was 3.265. Assessment of practice shows 64% of patients had poor diabetic foot care practice. There is a low correlation between knowledge and practice. There was a statistically significant association found between knowledge and practice with the selected demographic variables of patient with type 2 Diabetic Mellitus. Conclusion: The study suggests that patients with type2 diabetes mellitus need to be educated about foot care and regular checkups must be emphasized.