Journal Article

Foot care behaviours and associated factors among patients with type 2 diabetes: A cross-sectional study

Ho, Andy Hau Yan, Liew, Huiling, Tan, Elaine, Qin, Vicky Mengqi, Ng, Jun Jie, Subramaniam, Tavintharan, Goh, Kelley Fann Ing, Car, Josip, Best, James, Sidhu, Harvinder Raj Singh, Lodh, Nandika, Venkataraman, Kavita, Ang, Chin-Siang, Koh, Gerald Choon Huat, Wong, Julian

2024

Overview

As numerous studies highlighted the importance of maintaining proper foot care (FC) behaviours among individuals with diabetes to prevent complications, we sought to assess FC behaviours among patients with diabetes and to identify the factors associated with the practice of diabetic FC. We used a cross-sectional design and collected data through self-reported questionnaires administered to a sample of 586 patients from five medical centres. We conducted descriptive and inferential analyses to explore the relationships between potential risk and protective factors and FC behaviours. Overall, 429 individuals (73.2%) had good FC behaviours, while 157 (26.8%) displayed poor FC behaviours. Furthermore, we identified eight influencing factors on FC behaviours, including smoking status, the availability of a caregiver, the presence of diabetic foot ulcers, amputation history, FC knowledge, subjective norms in diabetes self-care behaviour, diabetes-related stress, and quality of life index values. The logistic regression analysis showed that current smokers were 60% less likely to practice good FC compared to non-smokers (odds ratio (OR) = 0.40; 95%; confidence interval (CI) =  0.22-0.73). Having a caregiver decreased the likelihood of practicing good FC by 50% (OR = 0.52; 95% CI = 0.33-0.84), while having diabetic foot ulcers doubled it (OR = 2.65; 95% CI = 1.26-5.54). Additionally, more FC knowledge increased the likelihood by 20% (OR = 1.21; 95% CI = 1.10-1.33), and higher diabetes-related stress increased it by 1.03 times (OR = 1.03; 95% CI = 1.02-1.05). Our findings underscore the interplay of various factors influencing FC behaviours among individuals with diabetes and call for targeted interventions and tailored strategies to improve FC practices in this vulnerable population.

• Publisher: Edinburgh University Global Health Society,International Society of Global Health
• Subject: Activities of daily living / Adult / Aged / Amputation / At risk populations / Behavior / Consent / Cross-Sectional Studies / Diabetes / Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - psychology / Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - therapy / Diabetic Foot - psychology / Education / Female / Foot diseases / Health Behavior / Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Hospitals / Humans / Likert scale / Male / Middle Aged / Mortality / Quality of life / Questionnaires / Regression analysis / Risk Factors / Self Care / Surveys and Questionnaires / Wound healing