Diagnoses and interventions in podiatry

In the present study a quantitative description is given of diagnoses and interventions in podiatry. Data are used from a survey on podiatry practice in The Netherlands. Data have been recorded by 36 podiatrists on 897 patients. Information was gathered on patient characteristics, the medical diagnoses, the podiatry diagnoses (impairments and disabilities), treatment goals derived from these diagnoses, and interventions. Impairments were recorded in nearly all patients. The interrelationship among impairments was analysed. Four dimensions of highly interrelated impairments were found. Disabilities were recorded in about one-third of the patients. Only one dimension of interrelated disabilities was identified. Podiatric soles were applied in the treatment of two-thirds of the patients, silicone devices in one-fifth of the patients and nail braces in only a few patients. Advice, instruction and exercise was given in one-third of the patients, while basic foot care was given in a quarter of the patients. Significant relationships between treatment goals and the application of interventions were found. The main conclusions from this study are: (1) the podiatry diagnosis is primarily at the level of impairments; (2) treatment goals derived from impairments determine which interventions are applied. The implications of these findings with regard to the further development of the podiatry diagnosis and the design of studies on the outcome of podiatric interventions are discussed.