Look Beyond the Treatment Chair: Involving Family in Care Education

Great, pragmatic work from Reaney, Gladwin, and Churchill.¹

Information about foot care provided to people with diabetes with or without their partners can have an impact on recommended foot care behavior. Think about this the next time you’re educating your patient and his/her family!

A recent study published in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being looked at these potential behavior differences. In a randomized parallel arm design trial, they split the cohort into two groups: one where providers gave information sheets to patients with diabetes and their spouses (dyad, n=64) and one where the information only went to the patients (individual, n=69). The patients then self-reported how many days a foot check occurred, and how many days foot protection measures took place (either by the patient or the spouse).

They found that detection behaviors were of much higher frequency in the dyad group than the individual. Protective behaviors did not show the same difference. However, the dyad group did exhibit higher levels of spousal support.

The authors concluded that giving clinical advice on foot care to both a patient and a spouse might encourage greater foot care than when given to the patient alone.

These findings can apply to anyone in a supportive role! Who exactly this is can change from family to family. The key thing to remember is that the education should be personalized to each situation. It’s important to balance the autonomy and privacy of the patient while still involving that support person in education and discussion. I think it’s a constant negotiation that clinicians have with their patients that they care for and their families. The key here is that we are dealing with a chronic disease and the life of the patient.

So next time you provide diabetic foot education, include the person in the other chair in the room!

Dr. Armstrong is Professor of Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. He is the Director of the Southwestern Academic Limb Salvage Alliance (SALSA). 

Editor’s note: This blog originally appeared at: https://diabeticfootonline.com/2022/05/08/information-about-foot-care-provided-to-people-with-diabetes-with-or-without-their-partners-impact-on-recommended-foot-care-behavior-alpslimb-diabeticfoot-actagainstamputation-education/ . It is adapted with permission from the author.

Reference

1.   Reaney M, Gladwin T, Churchill S. Information about foot care provided to people with diabetes with or without their partners: impact on recommended foot care behavior. Appl Psychol Health Well Being. 2022;14(2):465-482.