Abstract

Introduction: Given the increase in diabetes prevalence, self-care is an effective strategy to improve the quality of life of patients and reduce health care costs. Objective: Describe the self-care actions performed by diabetics according to their sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: An observational quantitative descriptive study was conducted of 60 diabetic patients attending health centers. A questionnaire was applied during the patients' attendance to control sessions. Results: Of the total sample, 70% had family antecedents of diabetes, 65.5% had completed basic education, 41.6% did not know about the type of shoes required to prevent diabetic foot, 11.7% reported not knowing how to perform appropriate hygiene of the feet, 58.3% reported attending the podiatry service, and 22.4% had experienced some sort of injury on their feet. High intake of bread was observed, while intake of fruits, vegetables and water was low. 30% were aware of the adverse effects of alcohol consumption. Conclusions: It was found that self-care capacity could be improved. Education should be viewed as a fundamental tool in diabetic foot prevention, and importance should be given to evaluating nutritional care.