{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T06:38:54Z","timestamp":1785393534836,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":58,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,28]],"date-time":"2025-11-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1764288000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: In South Africa, diabetic foot complications (DFC) often present for the first time at the primary healthcare (PHC) level, where nurses are central to diabetes management and prevention. Despite their key role, there are limited data on nurses\u2019 experiences in managing DFC, particularly in resource-constrained primary healthcare (PHC) settings. This study\u2019s objective was to explore and describe nurses\u2019 experiences in managing DFC at the PHC level, with the aim of informing future interventions and policy development. Methods: A descriptive phenomenological study was conducted with 21 PHC nurses working in community healthcare centres to explore their experiences in managing DFC within PHC facilities. Results: Five key themes emerged: limited knowledge, time and workload constraints, lack of referral feedback, need for targeted training, and resource constraints. These reflect systemic and practical barriers that hinder effective care and contribute to inconsistent patient outcomes. Nurses are vital to early detection and intervention but face structural challenges that limit their capacity to deliver optimal care. Conclusions: Nurses encounter significant challenges when implementing routine diabetic foot screening at the primary healthcare level. These challenges include limited training, inadequate resources, and poor interprofessional collaboration. To overcome these barriers, targeted capacity-building initiatives, improved referral and communication pathways, and the provision of essential tools and support are needed. Additionally, integrating podiatrists into primary healthcare teams and establishing multidisciplinary foot care services are crucial steps to enhance care quality and reduce complications in resource-limited settings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph22121799","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,28]],"date-time":"2025-11-28T11:19:51Z","timestamp":1764328791000},"page":"1799","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["A Phenomenological Study of Primary Healthcare Nurses\u2019 Experiences in Assessing and Managing Diabetic Foot Complications"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"22","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0930-1734","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Simiso","family":"Ntuli","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Podiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16","DOI":"10.1186\/s13047-020-00383-2","article-title":"Five year mortality and direct costs of care for people with diabetic foot complications are comparable to cancer","volume":"13","author":"Armstrong","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Foot Ankle Res."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1106","DOI":"10.4239\/wjd.v13.i12.1106","article-title":"Diabetic foot ulcers: A devastating complication of diabetes mellitus continues non-stop in spite of new medical treatment modalities","volume":"13","author":"Akkus","year":"2022","journal-title":"World J. Diabetes"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Viswanathan, V., Shankari, S., and Sloan, G. (2024). Diabetic Foot Complications and Challenges. 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