Knowledge, Practice and Attitude towards Foot Ulcers and Foot Care among Adults Living with Diabetes in Tobago: A Qualitative Study

Globally, the prevalence of diabetes has risen significantly by 62% over the last ten years. A complication of unmanaged diabetes is diabetic foot ulcer (DFU), which adversely affects the quality of life of individuals with diabetes and inflicts a huge economic burden on the family, government, and health care services. However, this complication is preventable with adequate patient knowledge and practice regarding DFU and foot care. The present study was aimed at assessing the knowledge, attitude, and practice of adults with diabetes on foot ulcers and foot care in Tobago using a qualitative exploratory design. Purposeful sampling technique was used to recruit 20 participants from the lifestyle and diabetes foot clinics of Scarborough Health Centre, Tobago. Telephone interviews were conducted with the use of a semi-structured interview guide. The data obtained from participants were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Four major themes, namely foot ulcer problems, participants' knowledge on DFU, knowledge on foot care, and practice and attitude of foot care, emerged from the study. The findings from the study revealed that the majority of participants had poor knowledge regarding DFU but exhibited awareness about foot care, especially on foot cleaning and inspection, preventing irritation after washing, appropriate footwear, and not walking barefooted. The participants had good attitudes and practices of foot care despite their poor knowledge of DFU. However, participants reported inadequate health education on DFU and foot care from healthcare personnel. There should be improved health education, information, and communication on DFU and foot care centred and tailored to the understanding of people living with diabetes. This will prevent DFU and reduce the mortality arising from this complication, which is a major target of the sustainable development goals (SDG) in mitigating the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCD) such as diabetes.