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netizens



I think it is very brave and commendable the focus for this years’ Australasian Podiatry Council Foot Health Week is obesity. (Running this week). A very important aspect of preventing morbidity, which is (in my opinion) often badly handled or ignored. Living with morbid obesity is very challenging and patients frequently meet with little sympathy from their carers. From what I have read to date the current campaign seems to rely on a ‘high fear’ approach (stay fat and loose a foot) and I cannot help wonder what good this will do. Other prevention campaigns which rely on ‘high fear’ like ‘smoking and drinking’ seem to achieve little sustained behavioural change within their target audience. Perhaps the Australiasian Foot Health Week would achieve more by being run in conjunction with existing weight loss campaigns reinforcing the link between disciplines and assuring the public of a holistic approach to health issues.

On the net I ran across a piece from the American Orthopaedic Association - the topic of discussion related to the ineffectiveness of orthodox foot orthotic materials when used on clients with morbid obesity. What was being articulated was a frustration that the presence of high BMI and waist circumference rendered much of the standard foot care useless. I took that to mean attending a pod because you are overweight may not be as productive in symptom management as it would appear at first site.

Certainly in my own communications with the media I will highlight the limitations (and frustrations) as a practitioner of caring for the morbid obese along with enabling strategies to reinforce support for weight loss. I will certainly not be over concentrating on foot amputation per se and may prefer to explain other more common problems, such as apnea. All the more so because it is an Australasian campaign and apparently there are studies to verify learning to play the didgeridoo can help with the condition.

Rolf toeslayer

 

netizens


Follow the footsteps .......

http://www.stargazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081015/COLUMNIST36/810150321

toeslayer

 

Hi

This thought provoking thread reminded me of the article below.

Life is rarely straightfoward.

Cheers
Greg

PEARLS No. 69, May 2008, written by Brian R McAvoy – PEARLS 69 pdf

(first published in New Zealand Doctor, 18 June 2008)



Mass media interventions are effective in changing smoking behaviour


Clinical question
How effective are mass media interventions (MMIs) in reducing smoking among adults?


Bottom line
Comprehensive tobacco control programmes which include mass media campaigns can be effective in changing smoking behaviour in adults, but it is difficult to establish their independent role and value in this process. Five large studies out of the nine which reported smoking prevalence found some positive changes in smoking behaviour. Three large studies out of seven that measured the quantity of tobacco smoked found reductions.There were no consistent relationships between the effects of the campaign and age, education, ethnicity or gender of those participating.


Caveat
The evidence comes from a heterogeneous group of studies of variable methodological quality. Over half of the studies which measured quit rates reported significant increases in abstinence, but this finding was difficult to interpret because studies used different definitions of smoking, smokers and quit attempts.The intensity and duration of MMIs may influence effectiveness, but length of follow-up and concurrent events in the community can make this difficult to verify.


Context
About 1.1 billion adults, or one in three worldwide, now smoke. MMIs involve communication through television, radio, newspapers, billboards, posters, leaflets or booklets, with the intention of encouraging smokers to stop, and of maintaining abstinence in non-smokers. Campaigns may be local, regional or national, and may be combined with other components of a comprehensive tobacco control policy.


Cochrane Systematic Review
Bala M et al. Mass media interventions for smoking cessation in adults. Cochrane Reviews 2008, Issue 1. Article No. CD004704. DOI: 10.1002/14651858. CD004704.pub2. This review contains 11 studies involving many millions of participants. Sites included California, Sydney and Melbourne.