The study aimed to compare the effect of a small group health education intervention and a large group health education intervention on the knowledge and the practices of type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients regarding proper foot care in Margosatubig, Zamboanga del Sur. The study utilized a quasi-experimental: pre- and post-interventional method. The participants included were Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients and grouped into small groups and a large group. Both groups received health education on different aspects of foot care which included manifestations and complications of diabetic foot, importance of regular foot examination with demonstration on correct technique, good hygiene, proper skin care, toenail trimming technique, usage of proper foot wear and significance of prevention, early detection, and intervention in the presence of foot abnormalities. Interviewer assisted pre- and post-intervention questionnaires were administered with foot examination. The pre- and post-intervention Knowledge mean scores of the two groups were analyzed with independent sample t-test and paired sample t-test while foot care practices were compared using McNemars test. There was a significant increase in mean knowledge score with a p-value of 0.0001 for both groups but there was no significant difference with the pre and post-evaluation comparison between the groups. For the foot care practices, there was a significant increase in both groups after the intervention however there was also no significant difference with the pre- and post-evaluation comparison between the two groups. For the foot appearance, in both groups, there was a decrease of respondents manifesting foot lesions after the interventions. However, in the pre- and post-evaluation comparison between the groups, there was no significant difference in foot appearance. This study concludes that the small group health education intervention is comparable with the large group health education intervention on the knowledge and the practices of type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients regarding proper foot care in Margosatubig. The researcher recommends that the intervention be implemented in the community outpatient care setting in the rural areas to help in Diabetes Mellitus management.

Keyword: Small group vs. large group health education Footcare among type 2 diabetes mellitus