Effect of Using Self-Care Behaviors in the Diabetic Foot Prevention among Patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcer: A Systematic Review

Self-care not only reduces patientschr('39') hospitalization but also prevents their various problems. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the self-care behaviors of diabetic foot prevention in patients with diabetic foot ulcers.

The present systematic review study was conducted on studies performed on the application of the self-care model of diabetic foot prevention in patients with diabetic foot ulcers. To access the articles, detailed research was carried out on Google Scholar, SID Iran Doc, Iran Medex, and Magiran databases, and the search process was performed using the following Persian keywords: "Self-care", "Self-care frame", and "Diabetic foot ulcers". Moreover, English databases, namely Web of Sciences, PubMed, ProQuest, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Science Direct, were searched using the English keywords of "Diabetic foot" and "Self-care". All English and Persian articles performed 2001-2020 were included. At the end of this stage, seven articles were selected aligned with the purposes of this study, reviewed by two members of the research team separately regarding their quality, and confirmed and analyzed using the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials tool in terms of their quality.

Out of the reviewed articles, 7 articles were included in the study, including 1 (14%) and 6 (86%) articles published in English and Persian, respectively. Regarding the research place, two articles were conducted in Urmia, Iran, and five articles were performed in Tehran, Saveh, Yazd, Shahrekord, and Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran. The results of studies generally emphasized the effectiveness of training on the evaluation of self-care behaviors and its effect on diabetic wound healing.

It is suggested that due to the chronic nature of diabetes, high prevalence of foot ulcers in patients with diabetes, and high costs of healthcare for these wounds, self-care programs developed based on standard methods be used as safe, non-pharmacological, non-invasive, and inexpensive methods in controlling physical and psychological problems.