Degree of Knowledge and Commitment of the Spanish Podiatry Community to Green Podiatry: A Preliminary Report.

Lara Gómez-Ruiz, Alfonso Martínez-Nova, Eduardo Simón-Pérez, Juan Francisco Morán-Cortés
Author Information
  1. Lara Gómez-Ruiz: Nursing Department, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda, Virgen del Puerto, 2, 10600 Plasencia Cáceres, Spain.
  2. Alfonso Martínez-Nova: Nursing Department, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda, Virgen del Puerto, 2, 10600 Plasencia Cáceres, Spain. ORCID
  3. Eduardo Simón-Pérez: Podiatry Grupo Recoletas, C/Angustias n 17, 47003 Valladolid, Spain. ORCID
  4. Juan Francisco Morán-Cortés: Nursing Department, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda, Virgen del Puerto, 2, 10600 Plasencia Cáceres, Spain.

Abstract

Climate change is real and we are witnessing its consequences, such as rising temperatures, water scarcity, and sea-level rise, among other significant impacts. As healthcare professionals, podiatrists should be concerned about climate change; however, they still contribute to the damage caused. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the level of awareness among podiatrists regarding this issue and determine their attitudes toward the climate change process. The study involved conducting a survey comprising a series of questions, including personal information, Likert-scale questions, and short questions to evaluate attitudes toward environmental sustainability in their workplace and how they contribute to the climate change process. The questions addressed their commuting habits to determine sustainability, the number of hours of physical exercise per week, and their clinical attitudes, such as prescribing unnecessary treatments or emphasizing sports as the primary treatment. The results revealed that nearly 89% of the respondents were unaware of ecological podiatry or shoe recycling. Regarding clinical attitudes, 31.1% of the respondents stated that they prescribe sports as the primary treatment for all their patients, while 37.9% do so in most cases. They also tend to avoid prescribing unnecessary treatments, with 44.9% stating that they never prescribe them unless absolutely necessary. In conclusion, based on this survey, Spanish podiatrists do not undertake favorable actions for climate change and lack knowledge of the concept of "ecological podiatry". To improve the situation, efforts should focus on waste reduction, eliminating unnecessary treatments, and promoting and practicing ecological podiatry.

Keywords

References

  1. Polymers (Basel). 2022 Jan 11;14(2): [PMID: 35054690]
  2. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Aug 16;17(16): [PMID: 32824361]
  3. Mater Sociomed. 2015 Aug;27(4):263-6 [PMID: 26543420]
  4. BMC Public Health. 2016 Oct 24;16(1):1114 [PMID: 27776496]
  5. BMC Res Notes. 2015 Dec 09;8:762 [PMID: 26652917]
  6. Arch Cardiol Mex. 2021;91(3):269-271 [PMID: 34310581]
  7. BMC Public Health. 2015 Jul 14;15:655 [PMID: 26170021]
  8. Polymers (Basel). 2021 Apr 13;13(8): [PMID: 33924399]
  9. Biomed Hub. 2023 Apr 19;8(1):31-41 [PMID: 37128552]
  10. Gac Sanit. 2012 Nov-Dec;26(6):525-33 [PMID: 22361642]
  11. J Foot Ankle Res. 2022 Dec 9;15(1):87 [PMID: 36494832]
  12. CMAJ. 2006 Mar 14;174(6):801-9 [PMID: 16534088]
  13. Am J Prev Med. 1999 May;16(4):307-13 [PMID: 10493287]
  14. J Foot Ankle Res. 2021 Jun 15;14(1):45 [PMID: 34130735]
  15. J Foot Ankle Res. 2021 Nov 29;14(1):59 [PMID: 34844653]
  16. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2021 Apr;28(13):15575-15579 [PMID: 33403640]

Word Cloud

Created with Highcharts 10.0.0changeclimateattitudesquestionspodiatristsunnecessarytreatmentspodiatryamongcontributestudydeterminetowardprocesssurveysustainabilityclinicalprescribingsportsprimarytreatmentrespondentsecologicalprescribe9%SpanishClimaterealwitnessingconsequencesrisingtemperatureswaterscarcitysea-levelrisesignificantimpactshealthcareprofessionalsconcernedhoweverstilldamagecausedThereforeaimassesslevelawarenessregardingissueinvolvedconductingcomprisingseriesincludingpersonalinformationLikert-scaleshortevaluateenvironmentalworkplaceaddressedcommutinghabitsnumberhoursphysicalexerciseperweekemphasizingresultsrevealednearly89%unawareshoerecyclingRegarding311%statedpatients37casesalsotendavoid44statingneverunlessabsolutelynecessaryconclusionbasedundertakefavorableactionslackknowledgeconcept"ecologicalpodiatry"improvesituationeffortsfocuswastereductioneliminatingpromotingpracticingDegreeKnowledgeCommitmentPodiatryCommunityGreenPodiatry:PreliminaryReportclimaticgreenshoes

Similar Articles

Cited By

No available data.