Improving the Skills of Health Cadres in Implementing Diabetic Foot Exercises as an Effort to Prevent Diabetes Mellitus Complications

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease that can cause peripheral neuropathy, circulatory disorders, diabetic foot ulcers, and even gangrene. Diabetic foot exercises can support the maintenance of foot function and peripheral circulation, but health workers often have difficulty remembering and practicing the movement sequence according to standard operating procedures (SOP). Purpose: To improve the skills of health cadres in carrying out diabetic foot exercises according to SOP as part of efforts to prevent diabetic foot complications. Methods: The activity used a one-group pretest-posttest training method. Participants consisted of 16 health cadres from Ulee Tuy Village, Darul Imarah District, Aceh Besar Regency. Interventions were delivered through material delivery, demonstrations, guided practice, repeated exercises, and redemonstrations. Cadre skills were assessed before and after training using SOP monitoring sheets by four observers. Results: Before the training, compliance with all stages of diabetic foot exercises reached 72.66%. After the training, all cadres were able to complete all stages according to the SOP, achieving a 100% success rate. Conclusion: Training accompanied by demonstrations and repeated practice can improve cadres' skills in performing diabetic foot exercises. Regular mentoring and refresher training are needed to maintain cadres' skills.