Development of the footcare programs for supporting the zest for living of demented elderly

在这项研究中，我们分析了70名老年患者的足部状况，这些患者有认知障碍，住在养老院，能够站立，以及为这些患者提供的足部护理。许多老年患者的脚表现出脚趾变形和指甲异常，使他们无法在站立时支撑自己的体重。我们的研究结果表明，养老院的护理方案应寻求改善患者的足部状况，而不是调整护理以适应老年认知障碍患者的生活方式。此外，许多工作人员在病人醒着或睡觉时观察他们的脚，但他们没有注意到异常。工作人员缺乏知识，缺乏对评估方法的准备，以及缺乏时间，阻碍了适当的足部护理实施。在每个设施建立适当的观察和报告期，培训能够解释护理基础的领导者，并设计方法与员工沟通足部护理的有效性，这些都被认为是有效的护理的延续。

In this study, we analyzed the condition of the feet of 70 elderly patients capable of standing, who had cognitive impairment and were living in a nursing home, as well as the foot care provided to these patients. The feet of many of these elderly patients exhibited deformations of the toes and abnormalities of the nails, making them unable to support their weight in a standing position. Our results suggested that the care program of a nursing home should seek to improve the condition of the patients’ feet, instead of adjusting the care to the lifestyle of elderly, cognitively impaired patients. Moreover, many of the staff were observing the feet of the patients at the time of waking or sleeping, but they had not noticed the abnormalities. The lack of knowledge among the staff, lack of preparation for a method of assessment, and lack of time prevented proper foot care implementation. Establishing a period for proper observation and reporting in each facility, training a leader who can explain the basis for care, and devising methods to communicate the effectiveness of foot care to the staff were all found to be effective in the continuation of the care.