Perceptions of Australians with diabetes-related foot disease on requirements for effective secondary prevention.
Aaron Drovandi, Benjamin Crowley, Chanika Alahakoon and 5 others
PMID 37092611WHAT IT FOUND
Patients with diabetes-related foot disease found wearing prescribed offloading footwear difficult due to discomfort and poor education on its purpose.
Many relied on family carers for daily foot checks because of vision or mobility limits, and reported a critical lack of psychological support after amputation.
Key findings
01Participants struggled to integrate offloading footwear into daily life due to discomfort, appearance, and lack of clear education on what the term means or how to access it.
02Many patients relied on family members to perform daily foot checks because physical limitations like poor vision or mobility prevented effective self-care.
03Participants reported a significant lack of psychological support services, particularly for coping with the trauma of lower-limb amputation.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was small (16 participants) and may not represent people who are less motivated or engaged in their health. Most participants had family carers, which may overestimate the self-management capacity of those living alone. Participants were from Australia, so findings may not apply to other cultural or healthcare contexts. No member checking was conducted with participants to verify the interpretation of themes.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Townsville Hospital and Health Service, Tropical Australian Academic Health Centre, and the Queensland Government. One author holds a senior clinical research fellowship from the Queensland Government and funding from the NHMRC, Heart Foundation, and Medical Research Futures Fund. The funders played no role in the study design or writing.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that patients who report high knowledge of foot care risks will adhere to offloading footwear. This study found that despite understanding the severity of the disease, practical barriers like discomfort, cost, and poor education on footwear use led to suboptimal adherence.