Mahon Andrea M, Moore Garrett D, Gazes Michael I, Chusid Eileen, MacGilchrist Claire
National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland
Forest Hills Hospital, Queens, New York, USA.
Int J Low Extrem Wounds. 2016 Sep;15(3):194-202. doi: 10.1177/1534734616638775. Epub 2016 Mar 23.
Management of diabetes mellitus (DM) involves podiatrists as the primary practitioners engaged in prevention and treatment of lower limb pathology. Patients must first possess adequate knowledge to engage in effective self-management. A knowledge assessment of a DM cohort has never before been conducted in Ireland. The primary research objective was to determine the existence of gaps in specific areas of DM-related knowledge between type 2 DM (T2DM) patients in Galway (GW) and New York (NY). A cross-sectional study compared DM-related knowledge levels between 2 cohorts over a 10-week period. Participants were recently (<3 years) diagnosed with T2DM, were based in general podiatry clinics in GW or NY and had no current or previous diabetic foot ulceration (DFU) or other DM-related foot pathology. Participants were recruited by convenience sampling. A purpose-designed 28-item closed questionnaire was completed by both cohorts to assess knowledge differences. Fifty-two subjects were recruited (GW, n = 32; NY, n = 20). The mean age was 61 ± 10 years; 56% were male. Significant differences were found between cohorts relating to individual questions; specifically regarding knowledge of glycemic control (P = .002) and frequency of self-monitoring of blood glucose (P = .003). Inappropriate foot care practices across both cohorts were highlighted. No significant intercohort differences in particular survey sections were identified. The scores in the systemic and podiatric sections of the questionnaire highlight patterns of common health misconceptions and some highly inappropriate foot care practices respectively across the entire sample. In particular, the dearth of patient awareness regarding uncontrolled blood glucose and its relationship to DFU development, amputation, and associated morbidity is shown to be an area of concern; this must be addressed a priori.
糖尿病（DM）的管理涉及足病医生，他们是预防和治疗下肢病变的主要从业者。患者首先必须具备足够的知识以进行有效的自我管理。爱尔兰此前从未对糖尿病患者群体进行过知识评估。主要研究目标是确定戈尔韦（GW）和纽约（NY）的2型糖尿病（T2DM）患者在糖尿病相关知识的特定领域是否存在差距。一项横断面研究在10周内比较了两个队列之间的糖尿病相关知识水平。参与者为近期（<3年）诊断为T2DM的患者，来自GW或NY的普通足病诊所，目前或既往均无糖尿病足溃疡（DFU）或其他糖尿病相关足部病变。通过便利抽样招募参与者。两个队列均完成了一份专门设计的包含28个条目的封闭式问卷，以评估知识差异。共招募了52名受试者（GW组，n = 32；NY组，n = 20）。平均年龄为61±10岁；56%为男性。在各个问题上，队列之间存在显著差异；特别是在血糖控制知识（P = .002）和血糖自我监测频率（P = .003）方面。两个队列中不适当的足部护理行为均被凸显出来。未发现特定调查部分存在显著的队列间差异。问卷中系统部分和足病部分的得分分别突出了整个样本中常见健康误解模式和一些极不适当的足部护理行为。特别是，患者对血糖控制不佳及其与DFU发生、截肢和相关发病率之间关系的认识不足被证明是一个值得关注的领域；必须预先解决这一问题。
