PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify diabetes nurse educators' perceptions of the most important foot care behaviors for elderly people to enact in daily care.
METHODS: A structured, open-ended questionnaire was mailed to a regionally stratified random sample of 90 diabetes nurse educators. Subjects were asked to identify and rank order 8 foot care behaviors perceived important for elderly people with diabetes to enact daily. Data were transcribed and coded into categories and domains using descriptive content analysis.
RESULTS: Forty-seven diabetes nurse educators responded with a total of 346 foot care behaviors perceived important for elders. Twenty-one major foot care behavior content categories were grouped into 4 domains of descending importance: foot/nail care, footwear/shoes, general health, and foot emergencies.
CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes nurse educators generated a range of baseline data for developing a reliable, valid, and patient foot care knowledge outcome measure to support national diabetes patient education and self-management program guidelines.