Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grants - Institute/Initiative Community Support

Up to 34% of people with diabetes will develop a foot ulcer during their lifetime. This will have major impacts on their health, including the possibility of amputation and early death. But 75% of these ulcers can be avoided through prevention or proper care. We created a diabetic foot ulcer screening program, and with this project we are preparing to scale it up throughout primary care in Canada. Scaling up means increasing the reach of the screening program so that a larger and more diverse population can benefit from it. Preparing for scaling up involves a) building an effective international team to give advice and do the scaling up, b) collecting the scientific evidence on the topic, c) deciding on top research priorities, and d) training people. First, with our patient-oriented research team, we will invite organizations already involved in foot health or in scaling up to join our new international network. The network will include scientists, health professionals and people living with diabetes including underrepresented population. Within our new network we will communicate using bulletins, online discussions and bimonthly seminars. Second, we will look for evidence, in the scientific literature and among experts, for everything known about foot health and scaling up, to see what's missing in our knowledge. Third, we will reach a consensus on what's most important in our future research on the topic. We especially want to hear from people whose voices are rarely heard. For this we will use social media, for example, and hold a public library meeting. We will also ask the public for their advice about our future project of scaling up the foot screening program. Finally, we will train a new generation of scientists and practitioners in the scaling up of foot health initiatives. This project will result in an expert international network, a collection of evidence, a priority list for future study, and a proposal for scaling up our prevention program.