D-Foot International

The mission of D-Foot International

Ending avoidable lower-limb amputations due to diabetes worldwide

Phu Thi Hong Thuy, a 48-year-old woman with diabetes, had her leg amputated after she cut herself on a closet at home. "Sometimes I feel my leg itching, but when I look, it's not there," said Ms Thuy, a patient at Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Justin Mott

D-Foot International

Foot problems are one of the most common complications of diabetes, and the most feared.

Up to 1 in 4 of all people with diabetes who have a loss of sensation to their feet will develop an ulcer in their lifetime. When that happens, over time, an amputation may follow in most people, and with it, their ability to work, see their friends, look after their kids and go about their lives.

It doesn't have to be like this.

D-Foot Lockdown Academy

D-Foot International is announcing free webinars during the current period of lockdown.

Lectures from experts around the world focussing on different topics related to diabetic foot: infection, vascular disease, Charcot foot, local wound care, etc of up to 20 minutes.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Additional presentations by Sicco Bus, Luca Dalla Paola, Jaap Van Netten, Alberto Piaggesi and José Luis Lázaro Martínez will be available soon.

Diabetic foot activities in the regions

Africa

stdClass Object ( [id] => 166 [title] => Dakar — D-Foot Sub-Saharan African regional meeting, October 2019 [alias] => dakar-d-foot-sub-saharan-african-regional-meeting-24-26-october [introtext] =>

The D-Foot Sub-Saharan African regional meeting took place in Dakar, Senegal, from 24-26 October, jointly with the IDF Africa and Société Francophone Africaine de Diabétologie et d’Endocrinologie (SFADE) training, which is organised every 2 years for GPs and paramedics.

The meeting gathered 156 participants from 7 French-speaking African countries: Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal.

This was the opportunity to train participants on the diabetic foot wounds and healing.

A large part was dedicated to prevention and early diagnosis of mechanisms leading to foot ulcers.

D-Foot President José Luis Lázaro Martínez's address was highly appreciated, especially the fact that he pointed out the need to take Africa’s specificities and special context into consideration in the elaboration of guidelines.

At the end of the meeting, top priorities and barriers to proper foot care in Africa were identified. In summary

Main Barriers :

Limited financial resources and infrastructures for diabetes in general and footcare in particular
Lack of diabetes specialists, and no podiatrist at all in SSA
Difficulties to disseminate and implement guidelines that are not adapted to our context

Priorities :

Data collection
Advocacy directed to
- patients for awareness-raising and adoption of preventative measures
- healthcare professionals for early diagnosis and referral
- decision-makers
Collaborative approach to adopt local solutions for diabetic foot management

Europe

stdClass Object ( [id] => 147 [title] => Bucharest — 7th National Congress of Diabetic Neuropathy and Diabetic Foot, October 2019 [alias] => bucharest-7th-national-congress-of-diabetic-neuropathy-and-diabetic-foot [introtext] =>

The 7^th National Congress of Diabetic Neuropathy and Diabetic Foot, with international participation, which took place on 10-12 October 2019, in Bucharest, Romania, started with the Debating-conference “Stop amputations! Act now!” This scientific event was organized by the Diabetic Neuropathy Society from Romania.

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International and national key opinion leaders with expertise in diabetic neuropathy and diabetic foot highlighted the news and progress concerning the management of these two most severe complications of diabetes.

The diabetic foot section brought forth a large array of topics:

The GLP1-RA - a game changer in diabetic foot?
New 2019 Guideline of IWGDF;
The application of medical thermography in diabetic foot disease;
The approach of diabetic foot before and after interventional treatment;
A therapeutic approach of the diabetic foot - The view of the orthopaedic surgeon;
Skin manifestations in the diabetic foot;
Management of diabetic foot in a day patient admission;
Diabetic foot ulceration – single lesion, multiple approaches;
Proposal of Protocol for diabetic foot exam in patients at risk of a plantar foot ulcer. A physical therapy and biomechanical approach;
Frequency of clinical features of the diabetic foot examined with the MNSI diagnostic test - in patients with diabetes over 10 years.

Middle East and North Africa

stdClass Object ( [id] => 175 [title] => Abu Dhabi — Inaugural meeting of the MENA Regional Council, January 2020 [alias] => abu-dhabi-inaugural-meeting-of-the-mena-regional-council [introtext] =>

The opening meeting of D-Foot International MENA Regional Council took place on 21^st January 2020 in conjunction with the “Train the Foot Trainer” programme organised by D-Foot International in Abu Dhabi.

The meeting, chaired by the Regional Chair Zahid Miyan, was attended by country representatives from Palestine, Iran, Oman, Egypt, Syria, Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Pakistan, Sudan and UAE.

Professor José Luis Lázaro Martínez, President of D-Foot International, introduced the aims, objectives and structure of the organisation. The Regional Chair Zahid Miyan explained the purpose and function of the MENA Regional Council. The proposal of the establishment of a Regional Council in MENA region was well received and was supported by all delegates and the Country Representatives were invited to join. This was the official foundational establishment of the D-Foot International MENA Regional Council.

At this meeting, it was discussed and agreed that raising awareness of diabetic foot complications, training health care professionals and establishing foot clinics at primary, secondary and tertiary care levels are the major needs and priorities of the region. The participants expressed their determination to make efforts to achieve these objectives.

stdClass Object ( [id] => 150 [title] => Abu Dhabi — Train-the-Foot-Trainer Middle East, January 2020 [alias] => abu-dhabi-train-the-foot-trainer-middle-east-18-22-january-2020 [introtext] =>

Quality education goes a long way when it comes to significantly reducing the number of lower-limb amputations due by diabetes. One of D-Foot’s main projects is training foot experts around the world how to set up education programmes for local primary care professionals and other foot specialists.

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Each Train-the-Foot-Trainer course trains up to 50 participants in foot care best practice, teaching methodology and how to set up a diabetic foot centre. Graduates then go out and train thousands of doctors and nurses in their own regions.

The benefit for the hundreds of thousands of people with diabetes who may no longer have to worry about amputation is incalculable.

Our future plan is to offer Train-the-Foot-Trainer workshops in those regions where we have not been yet.

The next Train-the-Foot-Trainer course will be organised in the Park Arjan by Rotana hotel in Abu Dhabi from 18-22 January 2020.

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Course objective

The objective of the Marrakech Train-the-Foot-Trainer course is to train experts in diabetic foot disease to deliver effective, well structured, sustainable training programmes with demonstrable outcomes.

This training course is not just to teach skills and knowledge about diabetes foot disease. It is a training programme which teaches course structure, organisation delivery methods and evaluation skills.

It is a course run for experts to train others to become experts in clinical and education skills and knowledge.

Target outcomes

To integrate the International Consensus Guidance Document on the Diabetic Foot into local foot care provision utilising the Step-by- Step training programme.

To help develop local, regional and national networks and study/working groups.

To facilitate structured diabetic foot care infrastructure that includes:

Sustainability of service and education

Service development and referral pathways

Driving and implementing policy making

To provide a support mechanism for local champions.

To have a sustainable impact on service provision and clinical outcomes.

To undertake minimum dataset collection to drive change and support research. To encourage the development of further national training programs with a national faculty to meet local needs.

Programme

Workshops focused on teaching methods and skills

. Components of Step by Step

. Key messages

. Presentation skills

How to implement the Step-by-Step programme locally, nationally and regionally

. Fundraising

. Organisation

. Support structures

. Networking

. PR

. Sustainability

Data collection and follow-up

. Data collection with the DIAFI system

. Strategic implementation planning

. Goal setting for the next two and a half year

Reporting

Reporting after 6, 12, 24 and 36 months.

ttft-middle-east.pdf

South and Central America

stdClass Object ( [id] => 169 [title] => Santo Domingo — ”Leaving Footprints in Latin America”, November 2019 [alias] => santo-domingo-leaving-footprints-in-latin-america [introtext] =>

D-Foot International and the Latin American Diabetes Association (ALAD), in partnership with the General Plaza de la Salud Hospital (HGPS) in the Dominican Republic celebrated World Diabetes Day and launch the ”Leaving Footprints in Latin America” programme.

The programme promotes education aimed at the patient in order to improve knowledge about foot care and their attitude towards any injury. Its main objective is to empower the patient of basic skills that reduce the incidence of ulcers and amputations.

Simultaneously, it is replicated with the opinion leaders in diabetic foot in Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay and Puerto Rico. More than 3,000 patients participated in different activities during the month of diabetes. They proudly showed their photos and paper prints, featuring the logos of ALAD, D-Foot and the local organisations.

The footprint is a symbol of firm steps in education and prevention of foot ulcers, showing that doctors, nurses and patients all support prevention and the initiative of taking care of our feet among. Let everyone hold that footprint with pride. Leaving footprints for prevention!

Western Pacific

stdClass Object ( [id] => 103 [title] => Kuala Lumpur — D-Foot's Western Pacific Region set up its Regional Council, November 2019 [alias] => kuala-lumpur-d-foot-s-western-pacific-region-set-up-its-regional-council [introtext] =>

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The first meeting of the D-Foot Western Pacific Regional Council took place last October, chaired by our Regional Chair Gulapar Srisawasdi. D-Foot National Representatives from the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Australia and Vietnam were present. Observers from Cambodia and Australia attended. We were generously hosted by Urgo Medical, our corporate partner.

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The meeting was held in conjunction with the 16th Asia Pacific Conference on Diabetic Limb Problems and the 2nd Global Wound Conference, organised by Prof Dr Harikhrishna K. R. Nair which was attended by the Director-General of Health, Malaysia and over 800 delegates from all over the Asian Pacific region. During the conference, D-Foot projects such as FLIRT-Bird, The POINT Project and Train-the Foot Trainer were presented and well received by the participants.

The Western Pacific Regional Council Regional Council was officially opened and all National Representatives were invited to join. Gulapar Srisawasdi introduced the D-Foot structure and the roles of the Council were discussed. Each country gave a presentation upon the strengths and challenges they were each facing in providing diabetic footcare in their respective countries.

Some very exciting new projects for 2020 were proposed and agreed to be supported by Urgo Medical in response to the highlighted issues which were unanimously agreed.

1. Education and training of patients and healthcare professionals.
2. Data collection to find out what is the burden of diabetic foot ulceration for patients and society.

Our next meeting will take place in association with the Asia Pacific Association on Diabetic Limb Problems (APADLP) meeting in the Philippines in 2020 and we will report on the outcomes of our Western Pacific Region D-Foot projects in the New Year.

The mission of D-Foot International

Ending avoidable lower-limb amputations due to diabetes worldwide

Footprint

A message from the President

Feet first

Diabetes foot care in the COVID-19 pandemic

Foot soldiers

An interview with Simone McConnie

World Diabetes Day

D-Foot International

COVID-19 training modules

D-Foot Lockdown Academy