Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Regarding Foot Care among Diabetic Patients: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Context: Diabetic foot is considered one of the most preventable complications among patients with diabetes mellitus. This problem is correlated with premature death and severe morbidity because of major long-term complications which affect patients' feet.
Aim: This review aims to identify the extent of current evidence regarding the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice of diabetic patients about foot care.

Methods: Studies published in the period from 2013 to 2020 were evaluated. International electronic databases such as Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase Classic, EMBASE (Ovid), The Web of Science (Thomson Reuters), The Cochrane Library (Wiley), and CINAHL and (EBSCO) were explored to find articles written in English-language using relevant keywords. All quantitative studies that focused on the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding diabetic foot care among diabetic patients have been searched.

Results: There are two main themes generated from this scoping review and seven subthemes. In this scoping review, 845 articles were searched. After checking for duplicates, 815 papers were left to evaluate titles and abstracts. This evaluation left 52 articles for reading of full texts. Of these, 21 papers did not meet the aim. Thirty-one studies were included in the present review.
Conclusion: Patients' knowledge, practices, and attitude toward foot care were not considered satisfactory in most study settings included in this review. Several factors affect patients' knowledge, attitude, and practices, including gender, income, age of patients, marital status, and educational level. Specific health education programs should be targeted toward patients with diabetes mellitus to enhance and improve their knowledge and practices regarding protecting them from future harmful complications as diabetic foot.