Background & Objectives: It is estimated that4-10% of diabetic patients suffer from foot ulcer. About one in five people with diabetes enters hospital for foot problems. Regarding the importance of education for these patients, the present research was conducted to evaluate the effect of education on foot care among diabetic patients referring to Ardabil Buali hospital.
Methods: From the diabetic patients referring to Buali hospital (diabetes center) 120 patients admitted for the first time, who had had no past training about diabetes, were selected. Each patient was asked to fill out a questionnaire on his reference to the hospital. The questionnaire had 38 questions, the first 8 of which were about the demographic status and the illness itself and the rest of them concerned priniciples of foot care. Following this, these diabetic patients participated in public classes in the center, and a month later they filled the questionnaire again. Finally their knowledge before and ofter the education period was compared using statistical analyses.
Results: The level of knowledge of 73.33% of the subjects before education was medium whereas following the education this rose to 86.67%. Comparing the level of knowledge of patients before and after education using t-test indicated that the level of knowledge after education is significantly higher than before (p<0.001).
Conclusion: with regard to the significant difference in knowledge of diabetic patients before and after education, it can be concluded that educational classes of diabetic center can improve the knowledge of patients about foot care. So they are strongly recommended to be held for all these patients.