Role of Education in Preventing Amputation amongst Diabetic Patients
Theoretical Framework
Diabetes increases the risk of developing a wide range of complications, including foot ulceration, which in most instances necessitates major leg amputation. Diabetic related amputations have a massive effect on the quality of life and the life expectancy of a patient and also cause huge financial burdens on the amputee(Gazzaruso, 2016). This situation is so bad that every 30 seconds a lower leg is lost to diabetes somewhere in the world. These statistics are quite scaring considering the fact that these amputations could have been avoided from the beginning, based on Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory.
The social cognitive theory asserts that people are better equipped to learn from observing a model, the lessons learned extend to the behavior of the model and the consequences that each behavior attracts. Having observed the model, all human behavior is informed by the consequences it attracts.
Social cognitive theory; Arresting the Risk of Amputation
Foot complications related to diabetes are commonly caused by; poor blood circulation, nerve damage. These complications if left untreated lead to foot ulcers and ultimately amputation. Diabetes is not only a disease but also a condition that can be managed by a patient, thereby enabling them to live a normal life(X.He, 2018). Thereby, the best teaching methodology amongst diabetic patients on how to manage their condition should be conducted in hospitals by medical practitioners using a diabetic patient as a model.
As such, patients who understand and appreciate what it takes to manage their diabetic condition have better chances of reducing the risk of leg amputation as compared to those without the basic skills of managing this condition.
While it is of paramount importance to have nurses trained on means and ways of preventing foot ulceration for diabetic patients in a hospital, it is also extremely important to educate patients on means and ways of curbing or identifying foot complications or ulceration. The intention is to empower a patient to the level of assisting nurses and medical practitioners to arrest any foot-related complications when they start to develop.
Conclusion
In most instances, foot-related complications are avoidable amongst diabetic patients, and can only be prevented if patients are endowed with knowledge of the means and ways of preventing these complications. Based on the social cognitive theory, patients should be furnished with basic information on the means and ways of preventing foot complications as well as be informed of the symptoms of foot complications to arrest the problem before it becomes serious.
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