DiaSHOE

DiaSHOE – Digital Education for Diabetic Foot Control

Background and Project Description

Statistics show that diabetes affects 463 million people in the world (2019). In Europe, there are approximately 60 million people diagnosed with diabetes, representing nearly 8% of the European population.
Complications associated with diabetes in the lower limbs such as Diabetic Foot Syndrome (DFS) are frequent. DFS can occur at any time during the patient’s life, but with proper care and the use of well-suited shoes, people with diabetes can control DFS and avoid serious complications. Footwear indeed plays a crucial role in DFS, as wearing inappropri-ate footwear can aggravate DFS, causing ulcers and even leading to amputation.

The project’s overall aim is to inform and guide footwear manufacturers, patients, infor-mal caregivers, healthcare workers, and shoe-store clerks to best to tackle this issue through prevention and skills development.

Objectives

The project focuses on the link between Diabetic Foot Syndrome and footwear, and ex-pects to make an important contribution to:

• Raise awareness about DFS and the complications associated with inappropriate care and control of the diabetic foot
• Upgrade VET footwear profiles and other related training with specific content linked to Diabetic Foot Control (DFC)
• Improve the quality of life of people with diabetes
• Disseminate results from R&D initiatives in the field

Expected Outcomes

The project will produce 3 Digital Education Packages for different target groups:

• Digital Education Package for designers, footwear technicians, and product managers
• Digital Education Package for health technicians and shoe shop assistants
• Self-care Digital Education Package targeting patients, their families, informal caregiv-ers, and school teachers/educators