Factors influencing foot care behaviour among patients with diabetes: An integrative literature review.

AIM: The aim of the study was to examine factors influencing diabetic foot care behaviours (DFCBs) among patients with diabetes.

DESIGN

An Integrative review using the Whittemore & Knafl five-stage framework.

METHODS

A systematic search was performed to retrieve relevant peer-reviewed literature published in English between 2011 and 2021 across three electronic databases: CINAHL, Medline (PubMed) and Scopus. Following the quality appraisal, 35 papers were included in this review.

RESULTS

This review revealed that patients' DFCBs were suboptimal. Additionally, four emerging themes were identified as the predictors of DFCB, namely: demographic characteristics as predictors of diabetic foot care behaviour; illness beliefs and perceptions as predictors of diabetic foot care behaviour; foot care knowledge as a predictor of diabetic foot care behaviour and foot care education as a predictor of diabetic foot care behaviour. This calls for nurses to devise educational strategies that adequately address these determinants to drive long-term positive DFCB among patients.