Challenges Nurses Face in Providing Competent Care for Diabetic Patients with Foot Ulcers : a Narrative Review

Abstract

Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is been recognized as a frequent and serious complications of diabetes, often leads to hospitalization and disability. Nurses have a key position in prevention and management of DFU in all of the healthcare sectors, yet they encounter many challenges which prevent them from providing competent care. This literature review describes the challenges that nurses face when caring for patients with diabetic foot ulcers, it also introduces some strategies to overcome these challenges. A literature search was implemented in international databases such as Medline and CINAHL. The findings show that nurses face insufficient knowledge, poor compliance with guideline, shortness of time etc. Further training about diabetes and DFU, resource allocation, and systemic assessment are recommended to ensure competent care.