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Background: diabetic foot ulcer is one of the most serious complications of diabetes mellitus. It will lead to recurrent hospital admission, amputation and even death.so adhering to practices on preventive measures by patients is vital for prevention of foot ulcers among diabetic patients. Standard foot care practices consist of four components. They are foot inspection, foot care, and proper foot ware and nail care.
Aims: To determine the preventive measures followed by diabetic patients attending the primary Medical care unit in yatiyana to minimize foot ulcers.
Method: A descriptive cross –sectional was carried out among 330 diabetes patient attending primary medical care unit,Yatiyana Matara. The basic socio- demographic and foot care practices were assed via a pretested interviewer administered questionnaire. Data was analyzed by using SPSS windows version 16.0
Results: the mean age was 66.45±11.92 with majority being more than 60 years old. Majority of study population (57.3%) were females, married (75.8%) and were unemployed (51.8%) and 62.1% had good glycemic control (FS of 80 -120 mg/dl). However majority of study sample (60.3%) had poor foot care practices, 83.6% washed their feet regular but only one third of participants (32.1%) washed feet with warm water. About 54.8% did not properly dry and 75.8% did not use moisturizing cream over the foot. About 57.3% did not inspect their feet regally and 63% were not trim their nails straight across. About 58.5% were not measure their feet size when last they bought footwear and 77.3% did not wear elasticized hosier. However majority of study sample (58.2%) were not walked bare foot regularly.
Conclusions: Adhering to the proper diabetes foot care practice is poor in the study sample. This shows a need for focused educational intervention improving their proper foot care practices among diabetic patients in order to prevent foot complications in them.
