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IMPACT OF SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS ON KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE OF DIABETIC FOOT CARE: A STUDY CONDUCTED AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL, MULTAN, PAKISTAN

Ahmad Usman, Ahmad Riaz, Ahmad Shehzad

Objective: To evaluate the impact of sociodemographic factors on proper knowledge and practice of diabetic foot care among diabetic patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on a convenient nonprobability sample of 160 diabetic patients visiting the diabetic clinic in the outpatient department of Nishtar Medical University and Hospital Multan from January to April 2019. Their knowledge and practice were assessed by asking eleven questions for each, giving one score for every correct response. Depending upon their scores, their knowledge and practice were considered good, satisfactory, and poor if answers to questions were correct more than 80%, 50 to 69%, and less than 50%, respectively. These scores were compared with the sociodemographic factors of patients. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 53.51±8.1. The knowledge of 25.6%, 46.9%, and 27.5% of the respondents was good, satisfactory and poor, respectively. Regarding practice, 19.4%, 52.5% and 28.1% of respondents were in the good, satisfactory and poor category, respectively. Education level and income had a significant association with both knowledge and practice. The duration of diabetes had a significant impact on the knowledge of the patients, while the rural background significantly affected their practice. Conclusion: The state of knowledge and practice of the patients of this region is highly inadequate. Steps should be taken to improve the education and socioeconomic standing of the patients, which will, in turn, improve their practices decreasing the incidence of foot ulcers and resulting amputations. Keywords: Diabetic foot, Foot care, Diabetic ulcer, Diabetes, Sociodemographic factors.