Medidas de autocuidado de los pies en pacientes diabéticos del Centro de Rehabilitación Integral Especializado de Azogues - Ecuador. 2024

Abstract

Background: Foot self-care in diabetic patients is essential to prevent severe complications such as ulcers and amputations, which represent a public health challenge due to their high prevalence and clinical consequences. This research is relevant as it contributes to improving patients' quality of life and optimizing prevention strategies in primary care in the city of Azogues. Objective: To assess the level of knowledge regarding foot care among diabetic patients at the Centro de Rehabilitación Integral Especializado de Azogues (CRIE, by its Spanish acronym), using the Nottingham Assessment of Functional Footcare survey (NAFF-r). Methods: This was a quantitative, descriptive, non-experimental, and cross-sectional study. The NAFF-r survey was administered to a representative sample of 186 patients, whose responses were recorded and processed in Excel. Results: The mean age was 58.6 years; 50.5% were male. It was determined that 64.5% of the respondents had adequate knowledge of foot self-care measures (95% CI: 57.6% – 71.4%). A significant association was found between the gender variable (p = 0.003) and the level of knowledge, with relevance to the parameters of injury prevention. Conclusions: Most patients showed an adequate level of knowledge. Gender was established as a significant sociodemographic variable, and injury prevention parameters were identified as key determinants. These findings suggest the need for reinforcing education for diabetic patients. It is recommended to conduct this research in rural areas before drawing general conclusions. Keywords: self-care, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, diabetic foot