Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) of Multi-Disciplinary Outpatient Diabetic Foot Ulcer (DFU) Care
Alethea Dasha Wenning Chua, Dexter Yak Seng Chan, Chelsea Chiew Chie Law, Hannah Woon Ching Leong, Jo Ann Huey Ping Lim, Jaime Hui Xian Lin, Huiling Liew, Shanying Liang, Yuan Teng Cho, Pravin Lingam, Shaun Wen Yang Chan, Chee Wei Lee, Sadhana Chandrasekar, Zhiwen Joseph Lo.
Background and Aims: Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) are significant diabetes-related complications which lead to increased healthcare utilization and costs. Patients with DFUs encounter challenges navigating the healthcare system. Understanding patient experiences is crucial for improving healthcare delivery, as it helps to identify gaps in patient care and allow for improved care coordination in a multidisciplinary care setting. This study evaluates patients’ perceptions of their outpatient DFU care using the Outpatient Experience Questionnaire (OPEQ).
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 50 patients with DFUs at a multidisciplinary podiatry clinic in a tertiary hospital in Singapore from January 2023 to April 2023. Baseline clinical and socio-demographic data were collected, and the OPEQ was administered.
Results: All 50 patients completed the OPEQ. The majority were male (76%), with a mean age of 64.8 ± 10.24 years, mean diabetes duration of 21.4 ± 12.04 years and mean HbA1c of 8.1 ± 1.85%. Over the past 12 months, the patients had an average of 6.4 podiatry visits, 12.7 hospital specialist outpatient clinic visits, and 18.2 primary care clinic visits. High satisfaction was reported for clinic facilities, organization, and consultations (mean scores 8.00-9.20). However, poor contactability of the clinic (mean score 4.45) and lower patient activation (mean score 7.43) were significant issues. Most patients had low educational backgrounds and limited income, potentially contributing to poor health literacy.
Conclusion: Patients generally had positive experiences with their DFU care, particularly with respect and care, organization, and clinic environment. Patient education was also shown to play a key role in creating a positive experience. However, improvements are needed in the clinic’s contactability and communication regarding appointment changes, to enhance patient activation, patient confidence as well as healthcare satisfaction.
