FOot CAre and Exercises ImplementatioN for People With Diabetes in Primary Care

The study is a type 2 hybrid implementation effectiveness trial, whose objective is to simultaneously test the clinical intervention and the implementation strategy. The study will take place in 4 phases, the first being pre-implementation, whose objective is to gather information about local characteristics, barriers and facilitators, and constitute the implementation team. During the second phase, the implementation team will be responsible for structuring the actions for the implementation of the intervention, adapting it to the context defined in phase 1, developing strategies for the training of primary care workers. In phase 3, we will implement the intervention either using a software or a booklet for people with diabetes and we will monitor the participants' diabetes-related, functional and quality of life outcomes after the 12 weeks of intervention. Reach, adoption and implementation will be evaluated using the RE-AIM tool. In phase 4 - _maintenance - _the municipality will be responsible for maintaining, expanding and improving the changes achieved, promoting the sharing of experience with other public and private institutions, facilitating the diffusion of similar programs. Specifically in the phase 3, a randomized controlled trial will be performed with 356 patients with diabetic neuropathy. The participants will be randomly assigned into either a control group (recommended foot care by international consensus with no foot exercises) or an intervention group that will perform face to face exercises, supervised by physiotherapists for 12-weeks. The subjects will be evaluated in 2 different times to access the effect of the intervention: baseline and 12 weeks, for all outcomes. The following outcomes will be assessed in all times: (1) diabetic neuropathy symptoms by Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument, (2) range of motion of the ankle and first metatarsophalangeal joint, (3) fuzzy score of the neuropathy severity, (4) Time up and go, (5) hallux and toes strength (by a pressure plate measurement , (6) hallux strength (by the enhanced paper grip test),(7) ulcers and pre-ulcerative lesions and (8) quality of life (EQ-5D). The hypothesis of this study is that the intervention will reduce the symptoms of diabetic neuropathy, increase the strength of the foot muscles, decrease the severity of the diabetic neuropathy (fuzzy score), decrease the number of neuropathy symptoms, as well increase range of motion, functionality and quality of life.

Inclusion criteria

• Adults of both sexes;
• Diabetes mellitus type 1 or 2;
• Residence within the catchment area of the Family Health Units.
• Availability to participate in the intervention at the established group time.

Non-inclusion Criteria:

• Clinical diagnosis of dementia;
• Inability to provide reliable and consistent information;
• Perform physiotherapy intervention throughout the intervention period;
• Active foot ulcer or major vascular complications.