Barriers in controlling blood glucose in type 2 diabetes patients with diabetic foot ulcer, Ahvaz Razi Hospital, 2012

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is the most prevalent cause for non- traumatic amputations, which starts with an ulcer in the lower limb. About 15% of patients with diabetes suffer from this ulcer. By controlling blood sugar, we can highly prevent the ulcer. The study was aimed to survey the barriers to control blood sugar in the patients with diabetic foot ulcer in three fields of interpersonal factors, extra-personal factors, and barriers related to the health system.

Materials & Methods: A descriptive study was conducted on 56 patients with diabetic foot ulcer admitted Ahvaz Razi Hospital. The Study population was selected applying a convenience sampling. Collected data through researcher- made questionnaire were analyzed using statistical descriptive elements (mean and standard deviation, frequency and percentage). The analytical statistical methods of Mann-Whitney and Kruscal-Wallis tests were also applied analyzing data using SPSS version 19.

Results: Extracted findings showed intrapersonal barriers are the most important factors for blood sugar control failures in diabetic foot ulcer patients. The total mean score for intrapersonal barriers, extra personal barriers, and barriers related to the health system were 38.307.8, 33.918.03 and 32.667.15, respectively. No significant relation existed between the mean score of intrapersonal barriers with the sex, age, and education. However, a significant relation existed between the mean score of intrapersonal barriers and the Arabian ethnicity (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Intrapersonal barriers had the most importance in blood sugar controlling for patients with diabetic foot ulcer compared to extra personal and health system barriers with a significant correlation in Arabian ethnicity.

Keywords: Barriers to control blood sugar; Foot ulcer; Type 2 diabetes