Good foot care is vital, especially for persons with diabetes. Many foot problems and complications including amputations, can be prevented by early detection and appropriate treatment.
The Ministry of Health and Health Authority of Anguilla (HAA) jointly organized a five-day foot care training workshop this week. More than 20 care personnel, including from the HAA and senior citizens’ homes, were in attendance. The training was conducted by Mr. Owen Bernard, Dr. Shelly McFarlane and Mrs Dahlia Brown of the World Walk Foundation, Jamaican Chapter – a non-profit organisation that has been conducting foot care training in the region and internationally since 2008. This workshop was made possible through funding support from the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO).
Through this week’s training, the staff will be better able to educate and support persons to care for their own feet, as well as to detect and manage early foot problems in primary care.
The STEPS survey carried out in Anguilla in 2016 revealed a high prevalence of risk factors for diabetes and hypertension – including overweight and obesity, insufficient physical activity and insufficient fruit and vegetable consumption. Further analysis of the STEPS data was conducted more recently by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and this estimated that more than 40% of people with diabetes and 75% of people with hypertension in Anguilla are not well controlled. This means that these persons are at high risk of the serious complications including kidney failure, heart attacks, strokes, blindness, foot infections and amputations. Hence strengthening comprehensive care for these conditions is a crucial.
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This week’s training was done as part of the Non- Communicable Diseases (NCD)/ HEARTS initiative which is being implemented by the Ministry and HAA to strengthen comprehensive service delivery for patients with diabetes and hypertension. HEARTS was developed by the World Health Organisation and is being rolled out regionally as a comprehensive and practical approach to reduce the burden of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. HEARTS comprises the following six modules which make up the acronym: Healthy-lifestyle counselling; Evidence-based treatment protocols; Access to essential medicines and technology; Risk based charts; Team-Based Care; and Systems for monitoring.
Background work towards HEARTS implementation has been going on in Anguilla since the beginning of the year and the initiative will be formally launched in a few weeks. Last month, HAA physician training took place on the new regional evidence-based guidelines for the management of diabetes and hypertension. The Foot Care Training course represents another piece of the HEARTS initiative to strengthen team-based care.
Watch out next week for: “Your Essential Foot Care” advice for all.
