Wound healing and healing process in patients with diabetic foot ulcers: A survival analysis study
Pereira, M. Graça; Vilaça, Margarida;
| Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice | 2023 | DOI Pedras, Susana
;Carvalho, André
;Vedhara, Kavita
;Dantas, M. Jesus
;Machado, Luís Meira
Artigo de Jornal
Aims: This study aimed to identify demographic, clinical, and psychological contributors to DFU healing and
favorable healing process.
Methods: Patients with a chronic DFU were evaluated at baseline (T0; n = 153), two months later (T1; n = 108),
and six months later (T2; n = 71). Patients were evaluated on health literacy, perceived stress, anxiety,
depression, and illness perceptions. Cox proportional hazard models were built to analyze the predictors of DFU
healing and favorable healing process (wound area reduction), including the assessment of time to achieve those
outcomes.
Results: More than half of patients had their DFU healed (56.1%) or showed a favorable healing process (83.6%).
Median time for healing was 112 days, while for favorable process was 30 days. Illness perceptions were the only
predictor of wound healing. Being female , with adequate health literacy, and a first DFU predicted a favorable
healing process.
Conclusions: This is the first study showing that beliefs about DFU are significant predictors of DFU healing, and
that health literacy is a significant predictor of a favorable healing process. Brief, comprehensive interventions
should be implemented, at the treatment initial stage, in order to change misperceptions and to promote DFU
literacy and better health outcomes.
This study was conducted at the Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi/UM) School of Psychology, the University of Minho, supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the Portuguese State Budget UIDB/01662/2020, and an FCT grant (PTDC/PSI-GER/28163/2017) assigned to the first author.