Systematic Review
Diabetic foot ulcerations (DFU) is one of the commonest complications affecting diabetic patients globally. The risk of this condition is associated with poor glycemic control, wound care practices, delayed treatment among other factors. Provision of diabetic education to these patients is essential in reducing risks of complications such as DFU. The article, A systematic review and meta-analysis of patient education in preventing and reducing the incidence or recurrence of adult diabetes foot ulcers (DFU) by Adiewere, Gillis, Jiwani and their colleagues will be analyzed in this paper.
The topic addressed by this article was related to importance of patient education among diabetics and the role of education in preventing and reducing DFU cases. This systematic review relied on primary sources that were conducted within the past five years. However, there were two sources included by the researchers that were more than ten years old but provided critical information of DFU management, which was in line with the other sources. The systematic review offers support from different studies to support their need for patient education among diabetic patients. Aside from the research studies analyzed in the meta-analysis, the study also utilizes additional diabetic articles to support the need for patient education. The authors used primary evidence rather than secondary research. In their analysis, the authors incorporated six randomized controlled trials, which met their inclusion criteria (Adiewere, et al., 2018). They also included literature review on diabetes obtained from different articles in support of their claims (Yazdanpanah, Nasiri, & Adarvishi, 2015). Two of the studies included reported the rates of amputations among diabetics while the rest were based on the incidence of DFU.
The studies included in the research were critically examined and the randomized controlled trials that were based on foot care education for diabetic patients were compared with normal foot care. The results on foot care did not have any statistical significance (p=0.57). An analysis on intensive versus brief patient education approach showed a statistically significant reduction of DFU incidences among the patients receiving intensive education as compared to the control group (P=0.05) (Adiewere, et al., 2018). The presentation of ideas in the study showed proper organization as the researcher provided information that authenticated the included studies before providing their analysis. Effective organization of the paper was also based on the methods used to address the quality of included studies, which entailed ensuring the studies were randomized, allocating concealment, excluding studies with incomplete data, selective reporting, and ensuring the studies were based on DFU.
The researcher summarized their findings by addressing the importance of foot care education among diabetes patients at risk for DFU or amputations, the results of the randomized controlled trials, and their perception about the observations they made in the studies. They recommended the use of intensive education approaches among diabetes. The systematic review offered a positive result in DFU reduction through intensive education.
References
Adiewere, P., Gillis, R. B., Jiwani, I., Meal, A., Shaw, I., & Adams, G. G. (2018). A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Patient Education in Preventing and Reducing the Incidence or Recurrence of Adult Diabetes Foot Ulcers (DFU). Heliyon, 4(5), e00614. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844018301403.
Yazdanpanah, L., Nasiri, M., & Adarvishi, S. (2015). Literature Review on The Management of Diabetic Foot Ulcer. World Journal of Diabetes, 6(1), 37-53. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4317316/.