GLASGOW UNIVERSITY FOOT HEALTH EVENT FOR OLDER ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES

摘要

Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) aims to be a 'University for the Common Good', encouraging staff and students to engage in activities beyond the campus for the benefit of the wider community. The GCU Podiatry Department and Musculoskeletal (MSK) Research group are committed to this ambition and recently delivered a foot health education event in association with the Glasgow Disability Alliance (GDA). The purpose of this event was to raise awareness of common foot complaints, and to offer practical, personal foot-care advice to a sector of the community that 1) is vulnerable to mobility problems, poor foot care and footwear maintenance 2) is often hard to reach, and 3) include people for whom appropriate healthcare is often difficult to obtain. The GDA is a very active organisation, run by, and for, disabled people. The GDA seeks equality, rights and social justice for disabled people, and provides free programmes of learning, events and activities for members that are accessible and fun. Sandra Stuart, Development Manager for the GDA, recognised that foot care was an area of concern for the organisation's members, and approached Dr Gordon Hendry, podiatrist and researcher with the GCU MSK Research Group, regarding delivery of a foot health event for elderly disabled people. Dr Hendry jumped at the opportunity to work with the GDA for this project and said 'As healthcare professionals, my colleagues and I are always delighted at the chance to provide foot health advice, and we hope that this is of direct benefit to those attending. As a researcher I learn from the experience of interacting with community groups such as the GDA and this experience then helps to shape our research with the aim of improving foot health for the wider population'.