1.Knowledge and attitude of nurses towards diabetic foot care in a secondary health care centre in Malaysia
Ng Bing Wu ; Muhammad Hanif bin Azman ; Muhammad Shazreen bin Sukr ; Arvinder Singh A/L Harbaksh Singh ; Abdul Muttalib bin Abdul Wahid
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2020;75(4):391-395
Introduction: Nurses play a vital role in the care and
prevention of ulcers in patients with diabetic foot. Patient
education, prevention of ulcers and rehabilitation are some of
the vital aspects that nurses provide on a daily basis. Thus,
good knowledge and attitude of nurses towards diabetic foot
ulcers and its care will ensure better patient care.
Objectives: The aim is to study the level of knowledge and
attitude of nurses towards diabetic foot ulcers and its care in
Hospital Segamat, Malaysia.
Methods: A validated questionnaire was used between
February 2019 to May 2019 covering area such as demography,
predisposing factors of ulcer formation, characteristics of
ulcers, complications of ulcers, and attitude towards diabetic
foot care.
Results: A total of 101 nurses took part and 57% of the
participants scored poorly in the knowledge section of the
questionnaire. In all 72% had scored poorly when asked
regarding complications of diabetic foot ulcers; 49.5% of the
nurses had positive attitude towards diabetic foot care; and
79.3% thought that care for diabetic foot ulcer is timeconsuming. Majority of them think that their colleagues are the
main source of information. All demographic variables were
deemed to be confounders with the knowledge and attitude of
nurses towards diabetic foot ulcers and its care. Conclusions:
Nurses in this centre had poor knowledge towards diabetic foot
ulcers and its care. None of the variable studied were
correlated with the level know knowledge. Good or poor
knowledge of nurses does not correspond equally to good or
poor attitude towards diabetic foot ulcers care. More frequent
formal training of diabetic foot care would be needed to ensure
better knowledge.