An evaluation of podiatry service use for people with inflammatory rheumatic diseases: a review of a rheumatology podiatry clinic in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

Background Foot problems, including foot pain, structural deformities, skin and nail lesions, and footwear difficulties, are common in people with inflammatory rheumatic diseases. However, dedicated podiatry services are limited, including in Aotearoa New Zealand. This study aimed to evaluate the podiatry service use for people with inflammatory rheumatic diseases who attended a specialist podiatric rheumatology clinic in Aotearoa New Zealand. Methods This retrospective review included people with an inflammatory rheumatic disease who attended the Auckland University of Technology Podiatric Rheumatology Clinic between 2010 and 2021. Data were extracted manually from patients’ clinical records, including variables relating to patient characteristics, appointment details, presenting complaint, assessments performed, and treatments provided. Results From 2010 to 2021, 157 people with inflammatory rheumatic diseases attended 1570 appointments. The most common presenting concern was foot pain (reported by n = 121, 77.1% patients during at least one appointment), followed by skin/nail lesions (n = 98, 62.4%) and footwear/orthotic needs (n = 90, 57.3%). A range of podiatric interventions were provided to address foot-care needs, in which education (n = 151, 96.2%) and general skin/nail care (n = 107, 68.2%) were the most common treatments provided. The majority of patients also received footwear interventions at some point during their period of service provision (n = 96, 61.1%), followed by orthoses, other padding/offloading devices, wound care, exercise prescription and referrals to other health professionals. Conclusions This is the first study to review podiatric service provision for people with inflammatory rheumatic diseases attending a specialist podiatric rheumatology clinic in Aotearoa New Zealand. The results of this study have shown that a podiatry clinic dedicated to people with inflammatory rheumatic diseases addresses the wide range of foot problems through an extensive provision of treatment services.

Perceptions of foot health services from the perspective of patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Finland

“…The most common reasons for people with RA to seek foot health services are foot pain, skin and nail lesions and footwear and orthotic needs [ 14 ]. However, there seems to be a discrepancy between foot health needs of people with RA and the care provided [ 15 ].…”

“…Given the importance of foot health services among people with RA, previous studies [ 8 , 9 , 11 , 14 ] have reported their experiences of using foot health services. However, little is known about the perceptions of people with RA who do not use foot health services and their views on how foot health services could be developed to meet the foot health needs of people with RA.…”