Knowledge, Attitudes, and Foot Self-Care Practices among Adults with Diabetes in Cañar: A Cross-Sectional Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70577/5efsfp77Palabras clave:
Diabetes mellitus; Knowledge; Attitudes; Practices; Primary care.Resumen
Background: Diabetes-related foot complications are largely preventable, yet they remain a major source of disability, amputation risk, and avoidable health expenditure, particularly in settings where structured diabetes education and podiatric follow-up are unevenly available. Objective: To describe foot-care knowledge, attitudes, and self-care practices among adults with diabetes in Cañar Province, Ecuador, and to identify sociodemographic and clinical correlates of good self-care. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted using an anonymized dataset of 228 adults with diabetes from Azogues, Biblián, and Déleg. Included sociodemographic variables, time since diagnosis, self-reported foot lesions, and KAP indicators. Results: Participants had a mean age of 59.82 years (SD = 10.40), and 58.3% were women. Mean diabetes duration was 8.06 years (SD = 5.75). Knowledge was predominantly medium (68.9%), attitudes were mostly favorable (90.4%), and foot self-care was mainly moderate (63.2%); 35.5% reached the good self-care category. Practice scores correlated positively with knowledge (rho = .238, p < .001), age (rho = .143, p = .031), and time since diagnosis (rho = .186, p = .005), and were higher among women and urban residents. In adjusted logistic regression, good self-care was associated with higher knowledge score (OR = 1.48, 95%CI [1.24, 1.76], p < .001), older age (OR = 1.04, 95%CI [1.00, 1.08], p = .047), and female sex (OR = 2.01, 95%CI [1.07, 3.79], p = .030). Conclusion: The findings show favorable attitudes but only moderate practice, suggesting that positive beliefs alone may not be sufficient to ensure optimal foot self-care.
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Derechos de autor 2026 Gloria Alexandra Latacela Lligui, Vanessa de los Ángeles Belloso de Noriega (Autor/a)
Esta obra está bajo una licencia internacional Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 4.0.
