ASSESSMENT OF NURSES’ KNOWLEDGE ON DIABETIC FOOT CARE IN PLATEAU STATE SPECIALIST HOSPITAL JOS, PLATEAU STATE

The diabetic foot is a serious complication of diabetes with high mortality, morbidity, and cost of treatment, which can be prevented by patient education and early diagnosis-treatment. Diabetic foot problems are frequent cause of hospital admissions for patients with diabetes and the main factor determining the quality of life of diabetic patients. Nurses are the primary point of contact for patients and are seen as a source of information by patients. In order for nurses to fulfill this role, they must have knowledge regarding diabetic foot care and convey this knowledge to the patient. This study sets out to assess the prevalence of diabetic foot and nurses’ knowledge on diabetic foot care in plateau state specialist hospital. A cross-sectional, descriptive study was used, a total of 154 nurses were selected by simple random sampling method. A self-structured questionnaire was used. The findings shows that94(61.0%) of the respondent are Female, 75(48.7%) have 11-20 years of experience, 110(71.4%) nurses said diabetic foot is seen more in males, 88(57.1%) of age range 51-60 years is affected more, 136(88.5%) of the nurses have good knowledge on diabetic foot care. The research recommends that Plateau State Specialist Hospital in order to facilitate nurses’ involvement in diabetic foot care, specialized training programs beyond educational background will enhance their knowledge and skills, resulting in decreased diabetic foot complication.