Foot self-care behaviour among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in nakuru county, kenya.

ABSTRACT 

Diabetes mellitus is a condition characterized by chronic hyperglycemia with disturbances of carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism resulting from defects in insulin secretion, action or both. Type 2 Diabetes mellitus accounts for 85% of all diabetic cases making it a common and growing health problem with significant mortality and morbidity including foot problems such as neuropathy, ulceration, infection and amputation. Prevention and prophylactic foot care have been advocated to decrease patient morbidity, the utilization of expensive resources, as well as the risk for amputations. The prevalence of Diabetes mellitus in Kenya is 3.3% and is a leading cause of amputation in both urban and rural hospitals. In Nakuru County, the prevalence of Diabetes mellitus is 6.6% and foot complications are a major source of morbidity among the diabetic patients. Diabetes is not curable and the success of its long-term maintenance therapy depends largely on the patients’ adherence with self-management practices. In light of the recommendations put forward by Diabetes Associations on foot care and footwear practice for persons with diabetes, this study aimed at assessing foot self-care behaviour among Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in Nakuru County. It is a descriptive cross-sectional study that systematically sampled 343 Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients above the age of 18 from the registers of 4 simple randomly selected health facilities with diabetic clinics in Nakuru County. Interviewer administered questionnaires, observation check lists and Key Informant Interviews were used to collect data, which was then analyzed using SPSS version 20 and Chi square was used to test for association between variables at p