Comparison of three types of diabetic foot ulcer education plans to determine patient recall of education

Type 2 diabetes affects almost 4% of the world’s population and the rates of amputation range from 43.9 per 100,000 per year among Americans. As healthcare providers, we can motivate our patients and improve compliance if we better understand the learning styles of our patients. The need to better prepare patients and caregivers to manage illnesses and participate as partners in their care has been recognized as a national priority. This study of educational preferences for diabetic patients with a risk for developing foot ulcers utilizes a written education plan provided by the hospital and a video developed by the staff of the vascular surgery inpatient unit. One hundred participants were initially requested; however, the final sample of 30 individuals completed the study from the beginning of hospitalization to day of discharge. The majority of patients were able to increase their post-education test scores using the video education tool. A significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores for the groups who received video education was found. In contrast, although there was an improvement in pretest and posttest scores for the written-material-only group and the written/video material group, this difference was not statistically significant. Diabetes in adults is increasing in our community; however, the sample size was not representative of the population. A follow-up study is needed to provide more evidence of patient preferences when education about their illness is presented in any format.