APERF

Why research matters to your role

Dr Susan Nancarrow

Adjunct Professor Southern Cross University

Susan is the Managing Director and co-founder of AHP Workforce which provides information, resources and advice to help allied health managers, employers and policy makers respond to the changing dynamics of the 21st Century health care environment. She has over twenty years’ international experience in health and higher education service delivery, organisation and governance. With co-author Professor Alan Borthwick, OBE Susan has recently published “The Allied Health Professions – A Sociological Perspective” which examines the history and sociology of the allied health professions in Australia and the UK. She lives with her young family on the far north coast of New South Wales where she is a keen surfer, gardener and aspiring creative artist in her spare time.

Dr Susan Nancarrow explains why research is relevant to every podiatrist, no matter what.

Research enables us to develop more cost-effective interventions for health care.

Research often sits behind the scenes for clinicians as an undervalued resource. Yet it is widely recognised that research is important to:

 

1. Build and strengthen the science-base in health care delivery:

The growth of the evidence-based practice movement from the 1990s has seen an increase in the need for research evidence to underpin practice – and for professions to develop an evidence-base to support the activities they already do. Allied health, and not least, the podiatry profession, has embraced this movement strongly to justify and support existing areas of practice, as well as enabling the profession to explore new opportunities and activities.

 

2. Promote health gains and service improvement:

This involves finding solutions to common problems, to maximise health gain for individuals and communities, and to reduce health inequalities.

 

3. Promote economic wealth and gain:

Research enables us to develop more cost-effective interventions for health care. It also supports economic benefits by developing a healthy workforce. This maximises opportunities for commercial development and intellectual property, which highlights the intrinsic value to society in promoting health gain for whole communities (by reducing the morbidity and illness burden on society).

 

What kinds of research has APERF supported?

 

All of the APERF funded projects can be viewed here and they broadly fall under three main headings:

 

1. Understanding the epidemiology of podiatric conditions
These include studies of growing pains in children, studies of risk factors and treatment for foot ulcers in diabetes, and factors associated with foot pain severity and foot-related disability in individuals with first metatarsophalangeal joint osteoarthritis.

 

2. Improving clinical practice
Examples of APERF-funded projects that contribute to the international evidence-base for clinical practice in the podiatry profession include:

 

  • The validation of biomechanical measurements and the effects and effectiveness of foot orthoses
  • The effectiveness of treatments for neuromuscular disease as well as studies of lower limb muscle function and whether this alters with different foot types and treatment. 
  • Clinical trials that evaluate the effectiveness of treatments for heel pain, foot osteoarthritis and Achilles tendinopathy are also covered.

 

Examples of some of the published outputs of APERF projects include:

 

We are in the process of developing a new strategic plan for APERF-funding to guide the future direction of research in a way that will continue to build capacity for Australian podiatrists.

3. Podiatry workforce and educational projects

APERF-funded projects have also contributed to the way we train and support the podiatry workforce. For instance, through funding investigations of podiatry workforce issues and work-related injuries as well as prescribing practices of scheduled medicines and creating online resources for people with heel pain. Other contributions include fostering understanding around graduate employment destinations, improving access to clinical placements and evaluating the introduction and evaluation of podiatry assistant roles. Other projects include a study of sensory awareness training and additional motor practice for learning scalpel skills in podiatry students.

 

APERF into the future

APERF continues to be a valuable resource for the profession in Australia and internationally. More information about APERF, including ways to contribute, can be found on our website. We are in the process of developing a new strategic plan for APERF-funding to guide the future direction of research in a way that will continue to build capacity for Australian podiatrists.

 

The Australian Podiatry Education and Research Foundation (APERF) was established in 1991 and exists to advance research into the causes, prevention, and treatment of foot problems. APERF is a charitable trust that is currently overseen by seven trustees. Since its establishment, APERF has supported 81 research projects and has awarded $495,000 in research grants. For more information about APERF or to make a donation, please visit the website and follow on Twitter @_aperf

 

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