Analysis of Podiatric Prevention. A study throught Internet

Abstract

The existence in today’s society a large number of diseases, initially unrelated to foot pathology (eg. Diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disorders, stress...), with the potential to diminish the quality of life for patients, has resulted the emergence of behavior eventually generating disease risk in the feet. To the extent that these diseases represent major changes in the structural morphology of the body in general and in particular standing pose demands, in turn, require the adoption of concrete measures podiatric intervention. In this article, results of a quantitative study carried out with 200 patients of both genders, without restrictions of age who attend a podiatry clinic, are described. For collecting data, a questionnaire ad hoc was designed. It allowed to obtain accurate information about the profile of the patient, in general, and of the specific characteristics of that profile: socio-demographical, behavior linked to lifestyles, everyday habits, subjective relevance, preventing behaviours, as well as perception and motivation. Results focus in the relevance of social perception studies of podologist and foot diseases, as well as in the need of incorporating subjective information in the analysis of the foot problems, and those behaviours involving risks for foot health of the human beings. This perspective contribute to the deeper analysis of the social meaning of podology, and the best way to deal with the increasing number of diseases that can reduce the quality of life, due the persistence of some behaviours, potentially generating risk of foot diseases.