Introduction
The article by Kaya and Karaca was published in 2018 in the journal Nursing Research and Practice. The objective of the study was to evaluate the nurses’ knowledge regarding the management of diabetic foot care. In addition, the authors aimed to identify the factors that influence diabetic foot care and treatment processes, as well as patient outcomes.
Discussion
The rationale of the study was defined by the statistics that demonstrate that diabetic foot problems are among the most frequent causes of hospital admissions in many countries (Kaya & Karaca, 2018). These health issues have a negative impact on all areas of the patient’s life, including work, family life, leisure activities, and general well-being. The study’s limitation and gap identified by the authors is the fact that the research was conducted in one group hospital in Turkey. This group hospital consisted of three medical facilities, one of which represented an application and research hospital that is a part of a foundation university. Therefore, the results of the study are constrained by the fact that conclusions cannot be used to generalize to nurses working in other hospitals and other countries.
The given research used a descriptive cross-sectional study design, and the sample was derived from the medical personnel working in one of the largest private group hospitals in Istanbul. This hospital also serves as a training establishment for many medical professionals. The sample population involved in the study was represented by 540 nurses who work in the hospital and were selected using the random sampling method. The nurses enrolled in the study were asked to participate in a survey where they completed questionnaire forms, represented by a self-administered test, the results of which were collected by the researcher upon completion. In turn, the instruments used were represented by data collection tools such as the “Nurse Information Form” and “Nurses’ Knowledge Level Form on Diabetic Foot Management” (Kaya & Karaca, 2018, p. 4).
The statistics used to determine the results were represented by several types of variables. First, the reliability coefficient was used as part of the Nurses’ Knowledge Level Form on Diabetic Foot Management (Cronbach’s α) (Kaya & Karaca, 2018, p. 6). The data was then analyzed using the “SPSS for Windows version 15.00” (Kaya & Karaca, 2018, p. 7). The identified independent variables included “the sociodemographic and diabetic foot management practices” of the sampled nurses (Kaya & Karaca, 2018, p. 7). The study also used descriptive statistics, such as frequencies, means, and standard deviations. The normal distribution of the data was analyzed with the use of the Single Sample Kolmogorov Smirnov test and parametric tests. Pearson correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between the variables.
Conclusion
The study has found that “66% of the nurses did not receive training in diabetic foot care, 80.9% did not educate patients with diabetic foot problems, and 77.5% did not perform foot examinations” (Kaya & Karaca, 2018, p. 10). While nurses have demonstrated sufficient knowledge and skills in regard to foot care and treatment of patients with diabetes, the study has demonstrated that they do not apply these abilities during patient care. The study has suggested that specific training programs should be introduced in healthcare facilities to facilitate the nurses’ involvement in relation to diabetic foot care and treatment routines.
Reference
Kaya, Z., & Karaca, A. (2018). Evaluation of nurses’ knowledge levels of diabetic foot care management. Nursing Research and Practice, 2018, 1-12. Web.