Environmental factors on DFUs incidence - a mixed-mode survey

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    The role of various environmental factors on the incidence, severity and recurrence of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) in adult patients with diabetes in England.

  • IRAS ID

    312284

  • Contact name

    Aleksandra Olszewska

  • Contact email

    aleksandra.olszewska@kcl.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    King’s College London

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 0 months, 1 days

  • Research summary

    Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are a serious problem for people with diabetes and can lead to poor quality of life and even leg amputations. This survey will help to understand what role various environmental factors affect DFU incidence, severity, and recurrence. The results of this study can help healthcare professionals and patients better understand the factors that contribute to DFU prevalence and determine if a more holistic approach is needed to assess DFU risk and decide on therapy. This study will be run across five sites in England (Royal London Hospital, Royal Free Hospital, Guy's and St Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, and Bradford Royal Infirmary) between April 2023 and December 2023 and will involve a small pilot study (informal interview) and a pseudoanonymous, ten-minute questionnaire. Adults with a past or ongoing DFU are eligible to participate. Participants will be asked questions about their job type, quality of life, diabetic therapy, comorbidities, and environmental factors (i.e. diet and exercise). There will be an option for a follow-up questionnaire after 12 weeks to understand the healing process and changes to the quality of life following a DFU incident. Participants may also provide access to parts of their medical history (pseudoanonymous prescribed medications list) to better understand their diabetic and DFU history.
    This study is a part of larger research project on the London Interdisciplinary Biosciences Consortium (LIDo) PhD project investigating the autologous platelet-rich plasma gel for diabetic foot ulcers (RAPID™ biodynamic haematogel) with King’s College London as funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSCR) and Biotherapy Services Ltd.

  • REC name

    East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    23/EM/0053

  • Date of REC Opinion

    21 Feb 2023

  • REC opinion

    Favourable Opinion