Impact of family support on the effectiveness of foot care education in older patients with diabetes

Abstract

Objective To evaluate effectiveness of family support on foot care education in older patients with diabetes .Methods A quasi-experimental , interrupted time series with comparison group design was conducted.Finally, according to their level of family support 42 patients were assigned to the two groups .The patients in two groups received a 30 minutes education session individually , and one family member of each patient of the intervention group with high level of family support was educated at the same time .The Nottingham Assessment of Functional Foot care （ NAFF ） and The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support （ MSPSS ） were used to evaluate the effectiveness of education and the level of family support over time . Results There was no significant difference between the two groups before the two group of patients （ P 〉0.05）.At the three and the six month of follow-up, the median scores of the intervention group were 66.91 and 68.19.The patients in the intervention group with high level of family support demonstrated a significant improvement in NAFF （Z =-2.782, -4.997, respectively;P 〈0.01）.The intervention group indicated significantly better performance over time in MSPSS （χ2 =41.932,P=0.001）, but it did not showed in control group （Z=1.228,P =0.874）.Conclusions The family support enhanced effectiveness of education and sustained health foot care behavior .The findings of this study are important for nurses and diabetes educators to improve the teaching and improve foot care of the elderly with diabetes . Key words: Older patient Diabetes Foot care Family support