Preventing and managing diabetic foot ulcers: application of Orem’s self-care model

One of the most common complications of diabetes
mellitus is a diabetic foot ulcer. Thus, managing and
preventing this complication is a main priority for health professionals, especially for nurses. This study was designed to
investigate the application of Orem’s self-care deficit theory
on prevention and management of diabetic foot ulcer. This
quasi-experimental study was conducted in Urmia, Iran.
Purposive sampling was used to select 60 patients and they
were allocated into two groups. Two patients in the intervention group were excluded due to amputation and four patients
from each group left the study because of unwillingness to
complete the study. The intervention group received two
self-care training sessions and home visits for 12 weeks, but
the control group received the routine care. Data were collected using a questionnaire which consisted of four parts (demographic data, self- care status, need assessments based on
Orem model, and Saint Elian Wound Score System). Data
were analyzed by SPSS software (ver. 16). A significant difference was found between two groups regarding self-care
mean scores, number of affected zones, ischemia, infection,
and wound healing phase (p < 0.05). Application of Orem’s
self-care model could be helpful for the management of
diabetic foot ulcers and could change patients’ lives by lowering the risk of amputation and medical costs