Family-centered training and counselling for enhancing foot self-care knowledge and practices towards prevention of diabetes foot - a randomized controlled trial in urban Jodhpur.

Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 100968562 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1471-2458 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14712458 NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMC Public Health Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: London : BioMed Central, [2001-

Diabetic Foot*/prevention & control ; Self Care*/methods ; Family*/psychology ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice* ; Counseling*; Humans ; Adult ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult ; Adolescent ; Urban Population ; India

Background: Diabetes foot diseases are one of the important complications of diabetes mellitus. Proper and regular foot care is an integral part of diabetes care. Engaging and empowering the family members of the persons with diabetes in foot care gives an opportunity for better foot care practices. This study was planned to assess the effectiveness of family-centered training and counselling in enhancing the foot self-care knowledge and practice in people with diabetes availing follow-up care at an urban health centre.
Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted in a primary care setting. Persons with diabetes mellitus aged 18-60 years (54 in each group) and their family members (2 per participant,108 in each group) were the study participants. Foot care-related knowledge, practices, family support, and foot condition were the outcomes. Intervention included family centered training and counselling for improving foot care knowledge and practices through family support. An end-line assessment was done nine months after the intervention.
Results: Foot care-related knowledge and practice scores were significantly higher in the intervention group compared to the control group at the end-line (13.4 ± 1.2 vs. 9.9 ± 2.7, p < 0.001 and 7.9 ± 1.4 vs. 6.2 ± 1.3, p < 0.001). The mean knowledge score of family members was significantly higher in the intervention group at end-line (12.2 ± 2.5 vs. 7.4 ± 2.1, p < 0.001). Perceived family support and frequency of family support for foot care were also significantly higher in the intervention group at the endline. Family support in the form of reminders, motivation, assistance and preparation of a foot care kit were reported. None from the intervention group and four individuals (8%) from the control group reported an incidence of foot ulcer during the follow-up period.
Conclusions: Family-centered training and counselling is effective in improving foot care knowledge and practices among persons with diabetes on follow-up in urban primary care settings.
Trial Registration: Registered in the Clinical Trials Registry India (CTRI/2019/08/020724) on 14.08.2019.
(© 2025. The Author(s).)

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Ethical approval was obtained from Institutional Ethics Committee, All India Institute of medical Sciences (AIIMS/IEC/2019-20/823) and the trial was registered under CTRI (CTRI/2019/08/020724). The study was conducted in accordance with the National Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical and Health Research Involving Human Participants, published by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-2017, India. No funding was received for conducting the study. No payment or reimbursement was issued for expenses incurred relating to their participation (e.g., preparation of Foot care kit). The intervention was provided to participants of control group at the end of the study as post research benefit. Written informed consent was obtained from all the participants (persons with diabetes and family members). Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

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Keywords: Diabetes mellitus; Family; Foot

Date Created: 20251004 Date Completed: 20251004 Latest Revision: 20251118

20260130

PMC12495609

10.1186/s12889-025-24652-6

41044716