Participatory action research improves podiatry care in diabetes

This study identified current levels of adherence by podiatrists to the Australian Podiatric Guidelines for Diabetes and used participatory action research to improve adherence to these guidelines. A retrospective audit of 30 files of people with diabetes showed low rates of reporting on vascular, neurological, biomechanical, dermatological and footwear protocols, as defined by these guidelines. Based on the results, a new clinical assessment protocol was developed. Participatory action research was used to introduce changes into clinical practice. Introduction of the new assessment instrument significantly increased reporting rates of all of the audited items, with the exception of biomechanical and footwear assessments.