Telephone intervention in self-care practices with the feet of patients with diabetes: a randomized clinical trial

Objective: To assess the effect of a telephone intervention for self-care practices with the feet of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Method: This is a randomized clinical trial with two groups, control and intervention, carried out with 102 users with type 2 diabetes mellitus linked to four Basic Health Units in a municipality in the state of Piaui. For the intervention group, six telephone interventions were carried out in three months; and the control group received only conventional follow-up. For assessment, a form was applied before and after the intervention period. Results: In the intragroup analysis, when comparing self-care practices with the feet in the control group in the pre- and post-tests, there was no significant difference (p > 0.05); in the intervention group, there was an increase in self-care practices in 70% of the items, with p < 0.001 to 0.03. When analyzing the practice of intergroup self-care after the telephone intervention, the positive effect of the intervention was evidenced, obtaining statistically significant differences in 60% of the items, with a value of p < 0.001 to 0.031. Conclusion: The telephone intervention promoted greater adherence to self-care practices with the feet of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry: RBR-3pq5th.