Professional practice influences : a sequential qualitative investigation on MSK assessment of the diabetic foot and podiatry practice

Newton, VA

Abstract

Within the UK public sector, the present healthcare landscape is a result of changing priorities over the last few decades with health care policies requiring healthcare professionals to adapt to new ways of working. These policies reflect the need to sustain a health service which can cope with the shifting demographic of an ageing population and an increase in conditions such as diabetes. These factors have an impact for the profession of podiatry, meaning potential changes influencing the profession, the shape of services delivered and the nature of everyday podiatry practice.
This thesis aimed to get a clearer understanding of the influencing factors on practice for podiatrists. It achieved this by using an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach to gain insight into the experiential practice of podiatrists in both specialist and non specialist practice. Specialist podiatry care is needed for foot related complications in diabetes and international guidance IWGDF (2019) has indicated LJM is a contributory risk factor in the development of diabetic foot ulcerations (DFU). However, the characteristics of foot related LJM are not well understood, therefore, at it’s outset, this thesis aimed to develop a clearer understanding from experiential practice. This revealed LJM is currently “off the radar” in podiatry practice, partly due to lack of recommendation to assess in UK clinical guidelines and because priority is being given to other assessments.
As the thesis shifted focus to professional practice, the superordinate themes, safe in our silos, stretching and sensemaking, steering or sailing, revealed the challenges faced by podiatrists in specialist and non-specialist roles. It is difficult to quantify the impact of health policy and changing organisational needs on professional practice, however the podiatrists in this study were employing a range of strategies to cope with the increasing demands. Some of these demands impact on the internal dynamics within the profession. Therefore, it is vital to encourage leading voices within the profession to help podiatrists with transformational change, and to encourage the next generation of podiatrists to embrace digital health technology, and public health roles in order to grow and develop the profession.

Citation

Newton, V. Professional practice influences : a sequential qualitative investigation on MSK assessment of the diabetic foot and podiatry practice. (Thesis). University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Apr 8, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 8, 2020
• Award Date: Jan 1, 2019