Knowledge and practice about the foot care and the prevalence of the neuropathy among a sample of type 2 diabetic patients in Erbil, Iraq

CONTEXT: Patients with diabetes need to receive medical care from collaborative, integrated teams with expertise in diabetes. They must also assume an active role in their care. One aspect of health education for diabetic patients is foot care, therefore identifying patients foot care knowledge and practice is central in diabetes management. AIMS: To know level of foot care, to assess peripheral neuropathy and association between them. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Cross sectional study in Rizgary Teaching Hospital and Layla Qasim diabetic center in Erbil, Iraq. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A sample of 250 patients aged ≥ 18 years with type 2 diabetes were interviewed to complete a questionnaire about foot care. Then a Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument was used as screening tool to detect neuropathy. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25 used with a statistical significance level of < 0.05. The results presented as rates, frequencies, percentages in tables and analyzed using Chi-square test. RESULTS: The mean age of the sample was 53.75 ± 12.08 years. The mean knowledge and practice scores were 6.1 ± SD 2.6 and 5.8 ± SD 2.1, respectively. The majority of participants were of poor knowledge score and moderate practice score (38% and 40%, respectively). The percentage of neuropathy was 31.20%. The neuropathy was highest among those who had low knowledge score (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The mean knowledge and practice scores were moderate, knowledge had significant influence on practice. Peripheral neuropathy was significantly higher among those with low knowledge score.