The Effect of Foot Exercise on Daily Activities and Blood Sugar Levels of Elderly in South Bangka, Indonesia

Abstract

Background: The elderly are a group of people who are at risk of developing diabetes mellitus. Foot exercise is appropriate for elderly people with diabetes to prevent injuries and help improve blood circulation in their feet and also could control blood sugar level. Objective: This study time to determine the effect of foot exercise on daily activities and blood sugar levels among elderly in Tanjung Ketapang Village, Toboali District, South Bangka Regency. Methods: The research employed a quasi-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design. Data were collected using two-part questionnaires: (1) contains the characteristics of the respondents, including age, gender, education, occupation, and (2) contains questions about Activities of Daily Lives and Blood Glucose Level. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Product and Service Solution program with the Independent t-test and then presented in univariate and bivariate analysis. Results: The study found the correlation between Activities of Daily Lives and Blood Glucose Level on foot exercise showed that the Blood Glucose Level before the exercise was 2.28, while after the exercise was 1.86. There is an effect of giving foot exercises to the elderly on Activities of Daily Lives and Blood Glucose Level with a significance p-value of 0.013 and 0.000, respectively. Conclusion: Foot exercise can be used as a standard of nursing care in both hospital and community settings to help and promote the program that has been established to reduce Diabetes Mellitus cases in Bangka Belitung Province.
 Keywords: Activity of daily lives, blood glucose level, elderly, foot exercise