Purpose and scope
The purpose of this guideline is to provide nurses and members of the interprofessional team, persons at risk of or living with a diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) and their care partners with evidence-based recommendations on the prevention, assessment and management of DFUs.
This BPG is to be used by nurses and members of the interprofessional team across the health care continuum and in all domains of practice supporting adults at risk of or living with DFUs (i.e., greater than 18 years of age) and their care partners. It is also to be used by employers, including health service organizations and academic institutions.
The following populations and topics are not covered within the scope of this BPG:
- persons less than 18 years of age
- prescribing treatments
- adjunctive or alternative treatments
Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO). Diabetic foot ulcers: Prevention, assessment and management. 3rd ed. Toronto (ON): RNAO; 2024.
Recommendations
Do you want to learn about and implement the most- up-to-date evidence-based recommendations on this topic with your colleagues? Download and share the full best practice guideline (BPG), Diabetic foot ulcers: Prevention, assessment and management.
See below for a snapshot of the recommendations from this BPG. We strongly suggest you review the full BPG before implementing the recommendations and good practice statements. The BPG also includes further resources to support implementation and evaluation.
Good practice statement 1.0: It is good practice that health providers conduct diabetic foot screening for persons living with diabetes at regular intervals based on risk stratification.
Good practice statement 2.0: It is good practice that health providers support and educate persons at risk of or living with diabetic foot ulcers (and their care partners) about self-management aimed at preventing and managing foot ulcers.
Recommendation 1.0: When delivering self-management support, the expert panel suggests that health providers use person-engagement strategies that are tailored to persons at risk of or living with a diabetic foot ulcer and their care partners.
Recommendation 2.0: The expert panel suggests that persons and/or care partners perform self-screening to prevent and manage diabetic foot ulcers.
Good practice statement 3.0: It is good practice for health providers to regularly conduct a comprehensive and consistent wound assessment and document the presence and characteristics of a diabetic foot ulcer.
Recommendation 3.0: The expert panel suggests that health service organizations implement a specialized wound care team to support persons at risk of or living with diabetic foot ulcers.
Good practice statement 4.0: It is good practice for health providers to implement a plan of care with the person living with a DFU and their care partners that includes evidence-informed management options.
Recommendation 4.0: The expert panel suggests that health providers use virtual care platforms in conjunction with in-person services to supplement the provision of diabetic foot care services.
Disclaimer: These guidelines are not binding for nurses, other health providers or the organizations that employ them. The use of these guidelines should be flexible and based on individual needs and local circumstances. They constitute neither a liability nor discharge from liability. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the contents at the time of publication, neither the authors nor the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) gives any guarantee as to the accuracy of the information contained in them or accepts any liability with respect to loss, damage, injury or expense arising from any such errors or omission in the contents of this work.
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DFU Evidence profile 1.0.pdf
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DFU Evidence profile 2.0.pdf
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DFU Evidence profile 3.0.pdf
(240k)
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DFU Evidence profile 4.0.pdf
(254k)
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DFU Methodology.pdf
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DFU PRISMA Diagrams.pdf
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