Prevention of foot ulcers in patients with diabetes in home nursing : a qualitative interview study

AbstractDiabetes mellitus and foot ulcer increase the risk of amputation, and prevention of foot ulcers are therefore important. Patients with diabetes and other concomitant diseases are often cared for in a home nursing service and the registered nurses (RNs) have the opportunity to practise preventive care to avoid foot ulcers. How prevention of foot ulcer is performed in home nursing settings has not been previously described.The objective of this study was to explore RNs’ professional work with foot ulcer prevention in home nursing settings for patients with diabetes mellitus.Qualitative interviews were analysed, using manifest content analysis. The setting was four municipalities in Sweden (large and small cities, and rural areas). Fifteen RNs actively working in a home nursing service with more than two years’ experience were recruited. The participants were all women, had worked as RNs for 3–41 years (median 25), and in home nursing for 2–18 years (median 8).The results showed that the RNs work thr...