Professional podiatry practice: An Ethnographic Study (version 1)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The care of patients with lower limb venous insufficiency: An ethnographic study to explore the role of podiatrists in the North of England
IRAS ID
124438
Contact name
Peter J J Roberts
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 9 days
Research summary
This research aims to explore the role of podiatrists in the care of patients who have venous diseases of the lower limbs. Venous diseases occur when flow of blood from the limbs back to the heart is impeded. The resulting conditions can be painful, derimental to quality of life and costly to health services. Podiatrists, as the professional group most often in contact with patients regarding their legs and feet, have the opportunity to help prevent and manage venous diseases. However, little is known about the role podiatrists currently take or their views on where venous diseases fit in with their professional role. My research aims to explore this topic by observing practice and interviewing a small number of podiatrists in different settings across the North of England. I aim to recruit six podiatrists from across one NHS podiatry department and a further four from private practices. I will observe the general practice of each podiatrist for a full day. The observation will be non-participant meaning that I will not be taking part in any of the treatments or diagnostic procedures. I will be taking notes during the observations and may talk to the podiatrists and patients but this will not form part of their treatment. Following the observations I will conduct an interview with each podiatrist to ask them about their views and experiences of venous disease in their practice. The intended benefit of this research is to identify opportunities to develop or share good practice in the prevention and management of this frequently occuring and chronic health problem.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/NW/0137
Date of REC Opinion
2 Mar 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion