A male’s foot is being shot by an ulcer, not a gunshot! The magnitude and associated factors of diabetic foot ulcer among diabetes mellitus patients on chronic care follow-up of southwestern Ethiopian hospital: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is one of the main complications of diabetes mellitus associated with major morbidity and mortality. DFU is the major cause of infection and lower extremity amputations in diabetic patients. Despite this, there was a scanty finding on associated factors of foot ulcer among diabetes mellitus. METHODS: Facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among diabetes mellitus patients at BGH from August 1, 2021 - 30, 2021. The validated tool of the Nottingham Assessment of Functional Footcare (NAFF) was used to assess the diabetic foot self-care practice. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the associations between the dependent variables and independent variables. Data were analyzed using a statistical package for social science (SPSS version 23). RESULTS: A total of 162 respondents with a response rate of 100% have participated in the study. Of the respondents, 88 (54.3%) were females and the mean and SD of the age were 35.8 and 12.70. The prevalence of diabetic foot ulcers in our study area was 24(14.81%). The results of the multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that being a male (AOR = 2.143; 95% CI: 0.691–6.65), poor diabetic foot care practice (AOR = 3.761; 95CI: 1.188–11.90), and having a co-morbidity (AOR = 2.507; 95CI: 3.270–5.95)were more likely to experience a diabetic foot ulcer than their counterparts. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of diabetic foot ulcers among diabetic patients in BGH was found to be high. The presence of comorbidity, being a male, and foot care practice were factors that predict the occurrences of diabetic foot ulcers. Therefore, the ongoing medical education on the foot care practices should be given to diabetes mellitus patients.