TY  - JOUR
AU  - Andrikopoulou, Elisavet
AU  - Chatzistergos, Panagiotis
AU  - Chockalingam, Nachiappan
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/4/24
TI  - Exploring the Pathways of Diabetes Foot Complications Treatment and Investigating Experiences From Frontline Health Care Professionals: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study
JO  - JMIR Res Protoc
SP  - e54852
VL  - 13
KW  - diabetic foot
KW  - first-ever diabetic foot ulcer
KW  - qualitative research
KW  - quantitative evaluation
KW  - surveys and questionnaires
KW  - telephone interviews
KW  - primary care
KW  - community care
KW  - acute care
KW  - education of patients
KW  - foot ulcer
KW  - exploration
KW  - diabetes
KW  - foot ulceration
KW  - United Kingdom
KW  - diabetic foot ulceration
KW  - DFU
KW  - amputation
KW  - complication
KW  - perspectives
KW  - experiences
KW  - health care professionals
KW  - barrier
KW  - barriers
KW  - effective care
KW  - foot care
KW  - primary ulcers
KW  - quality of life
AB  - Background: Diabetes affects more than 4.3 million individuals in the United Kingdom, with 19% to 34% developing diabetes-related foot ulceration (DFU) during their lifespan, which can lead to an amputation. In the United Kingdom, every week, approximately 169 people have an amputation due to diabetes. Preventing first-ever ulcers is the most effective strategy to reduce the occurrence of diabetes-related amputations, but research in this space is lacking. Objective: This protocol seeks to document the experiences and perspectives of frontline health care professionals who work with people who have diabetes and diabetes-related foot problems. Special attention is given to their perceptions of barriers to effective care, their views about barriers to effective and inclusive engagement with people with diabetes, and their experience with the first-ever DFU. Another aspect of the study is the focus on whether clinical management is affected by data sharing, data availability, and interoperability issues. Methods: This is a mixed methods explanatory protocol, which is sequential, and its purpose is to use the qualitative data to explain the initial quantitative data collected through a survey of frontline health care professionals. Data analysis of quantitative data will be completed first and then synthesized with the qualitative data analysis. Qualitative data will be analyzed using the framework method. This study will use joint displays to integrate the data. Ethical approval has been granted by the ethics committee of Staffordshire University. Results: The quantitative data collection started in March 2023 and will close in May 2024. The qualitative interviews commenced in November 2023 with volunteer participants who initially completed the survey. Conclusions: This study’s survey focuses on data interoperability and the interviews focus more on the perspectives and experiences of clinicians and their perceived barriers for the effective management of diabetes foot ulcers. Including a geographically relevant and diverse cohort of health care professionals that spans a wide range of roles and care settings involved in diabetes-related foot care is very important for the successful application of this protocol. Special care is given to advertise and promote participation as widely as possible. The qualitative part of this protocol is also limited to 30-40 interview participants, as it is not realistic to interview higher numbers, due to time and resource constraints. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/54852 
SN  - 1929-0748
UR  - https://www.researchprotocols.org/2024/1/e54852
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/54852
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38656782
DO  - 10.2196/54852
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/54852
ER  -