How patients with diabetes who have foot and leg ulcers perceive the nursing care they receive.

OBJECTIVE

This Norwegian study set out to explore the nursing care experienced by patients with diabetes who have a foot and/or leg ulcer.

METHOD

A qualitative method was used, with in-depth recorded interviews of patients living at home and receiving district nursing care. Seven patients were interviewed at home for 45 minutes to two hours. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using Kvale's thematic and meaning analysis.

RESULTS

Several themes emerged, even though sample was not a homogeneous group: the expert patient (where patients acquired knowledge about their treatment and then passed this on to new and inexperienced nurses); fragmented nursing care (caused by lack of continuity in care); impersonal nursing care (where nurses did not view the patient as an individual, but focused solely on their wound); the ideal nurse (nursing attributes the patients valued most highly, such as engaging with them and attempting to understand their situation).

CONCLUSION

Crucial to the successful treatment of patients with diabetes who have foot and/or leg ulcers is an understanding of their feelings about their ulcer and its impact on their quality of life. Further research in this area is recommended.