Developing a foot care guidance program for diabetics by using an internet videophone system

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Diabetics were provided with foot care guidance with the help of videophones, and subsequent changes in foot care behavior were examined. A nurse conducted guidance sessions during the 2-to 3-week interval between doctor consultations, with the duration of the first session being 30 minutes and that of subsequent sessions being 10 to 15 minutes. Guidance sessions via videophone consisted of a review of foot care activities of the patient in the previous week, and confirmation of guidance given during the hospital visits. Foot care activities were evaluated using the J-SDSCA scale. Consequently, activities such as "foot monitoring,""wiping of areas between toes," and "monitoring of shoe interiors" improved. Regular reviews of the patient's foot care increased the patient's awareness about their own feet. This seems to have improved their foot care behavior. For ailments such as foot lesions that need to be checked regularly, using a videophone allows for precise and repeated guidance in real time, in the patient's domestic life. Furthermore, such a system is considered beneficial in terms of medical economic effects such as the decrease in the number of hospital consultations, and in terms of infection prevention in such times as outbreaks of infectious disease.