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The primary aim of this study was to describe the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on Australian podiatry settings. Here is a summary of what was discovered across the 465 podiatrists who were surveyed.
The primary aim of this study was to describe the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on Australian podiatry settings. Here is a summary of what was discovered across the 465 podiatrists who were surveyed.
The study: Experiences of Australian podiatrists working through the 2020 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic: an online survey. Williams, C.M., Couch, A., Haines, T., Menz, H.B. J Foot Ankle Res 14:11 (2021)
On 19 January 2020, the Chief Medical Officer of Australia issued a statement about the appearance of a concerning novel coronavirus. Since that date, there have been a variety of responses by federal and state governments to mitigate the impact of the virus, while many international recommendations for podiatry triage and risk identification were made in the first three months of the pandemic.
Australian government policies focused on the provision of essential podiatry services only. Further, most of the research about SARS-CoV-2 focused on the epidemiology and treatment of COVID-19, while workforce research concentrated on ‘frontline’ workers, such as nurses and paramedics.
A cross-sectional survey of Australian podiatrists and podiatric surgeons was conducted over a four year period. As part of the final wave of the survey, specific questions were asked relating to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on PPE and consumables, business decisions related to closures and working situations, the access of information for business decision making and the general impact of the pandemic on individual and practice circumstances. The primary aim of this study was to describe the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on Australian podiatry settings.
A total of 465 podiatrists and podiatric surgeons provided responses. Of these respondents, up to 25% reported using telehealth during the pandemic. The results indicated there were minimal issues with the procurement of PPE (49% of respondents reported no issues), and ‘business as usual’ was the most common response (67% of respondents) to employment and business conditions.
Participants also reported mostly using state and territory Department of Health websites (75% of respondents) and the Australian Podiatry Association website (72% of respondents) to access information to make decisions about their health and businesses.
The qualitative responses further described the feelings of podiatrists throughout the pandemic. Podiatrists reported positive experiences in playing a leading role as public health advocates. However, many were frustrated by the government’s attitude to the podiatry profession as being not as important as others.
Participants also described challenges akin to running a marathon. This included the need to prepare, educate and plan to keep themselves and their patients safe, but also having to navigate various roadblocks imposed by government settings.
Some podiatrists described the experience of navigating speed bumps and generally rebounding from challenges. While others described ‘hitting the wall’, reporting negative impacts to mental health. Podiatrists also reported a generally optimistic outlook, seeing an end in sight to the pandemic, and also reported learning more about their practice behaviors and enhancements during the pandemic, as they made plans to move forward.
This study provided a fascinating and important reflection into the lives of podiatrists during the COVID-19 pandemic.
To read the study in full, head here. N.B. We will publish a different high-impact study summary each month over the next three months. All studies are clinically relevant for Australian podiatrists.
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