KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS DIABETIC FOOT AMONG THE ELDERLY IN SHANGHAI

Objective To investigate the level of knowledge and attitudes related to diabetic foot (DF) in the elderly in Shanghai.Methods A total of 502 older residents in Shanghai were interviewed and 493 were included in analysis.A questionnaire specifically designed for this study was used.The knowledge and attitudes with sociodemographic variables were explored by Chi-square analysis and Mann Whitney U test.The contribution of the variables to DF knowledge and attitudes towards DF was explored by both univariate and multivariate analysis.Results Knowledge of DF was limited.Only 183 people (37.1%) achieved adequate DF knowledge while 310(62.9%) had inadequate knowledge.There were no significant differences between people with diabetes and those without diabetes in many questions pertaining to DF knowledge.Encouragingly,a majority of respondents expressed their willingness to receive more information on DF.Both knowledge about and attitudes towards DF were significantly associated with "education level","the willingness to visit doctors regularly",and "whether people have diabetes". Conclusion Findings highlight a need to focus resources and education on improving people’s knowledge of DF,which may be helpful to reduce the occurrence of DF.Nonetheless,the effect of education on decreasing DF incidence still requires verification through future studies.