Slipper wear by over 65's ?

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Hi, I am a first year Podiatry student at the University of Huddersfield (UK) and I am currently undertaking a health promotion project regarding educating people on how to correctly fit slippers, the importance of correctly fitting slippers and what to look for when buying slippers. This project has arisen through a realisation of how much time some people spend wearing slippers but pay little attention to fit or support. I am hoping to support my project through valid evidence yet I have so far been unable to find any statistics regarding the amount of time spent wearing slippers by the over 65's. Please could someone point me in the right direction. Any information would be much appreciated.
Cheers,
Al.

 

Al,

you might want to look into the stats for falls in the elderly in the house. I believe there is an increase in falls backwards, possibly due to shortening achilles etc. Wearing slippers/shoes with a slight positive heel to toe ratio helps. I don't have any literature but there probably is some if you look.

regards

 

I've got to go out in a few minutes time, but at some point tomorrow, I'll post my "notes" from the SCP Harrogate conference. There was a section on this specific topic.

 

Hi Al,

I think Hylton Menz may be the one in the know. If you follow the links 'falls' in the 'Keyword Tags' across the top of the page there are a few studies you may find useful.

http://www.podiatry-arena.com/podiatry-forum/showthread.php?t=2014

If you still have further questions I suggest perhaps reposting in the Gerontology section.

Kind regards & best of luck, Mandy.

Oops forgot to say :welcome:. We hope you enjoy participating in Podiatry Arena.

 

Thanks for the replies, I will start searching on here.
Cheers,
Al.

 

I suggest you contact a Company called DB (or Easy B) they are in Northhamptonshire who make a slipper designed to reduce the risk of falling. Ask for Charles.
Telephone +44 (0) 1933359217. They may be able to help you.

 

Al,

Some useful references:

Munro BJ, Steele JR. Household-shoe wearing and purchasing habits. A survey of people aged 65 years and older. J Am Podiatr Med Assoc. 1999 Oct;89(10):506-14.

- survey of 128 community dwelling people aged over 65 years
- majority wore slippers within their homes
- 32 percent of women and 28 percent of men usually walked barefoot or wore socks​

Mickle KJ, Munro BJ, Lord SR, Menz HB, Steele JR. Household shoe wearing habits of older adults: Are they associated with falls risk? In: Frederick EC, Yang SW, editors. Proceedings of the 8th Footwear Biomechanics Symposium; 2007 Jun 27–29; Taipei (Taiwan). p. 77–78.

- 25 percent of 312 older community dwellers reported wearing slippers inside the house, followed by 19 percent reporting walking around without shoes​

Kerse N, Butler M, Robinson E, Todd M. Wearing slippers, falls and injury in residential care. Aust N Z J Public Health. 2004;28(2):180–87.

- 37 percent of a sample of 606 nursing home residents (mean age 83 years) reported wearing slippers indoors​

Jessup RL. Foot pathology and inappropriate footwear as risk factors for falls in a subacute aged-care hospital. J Am Podiatr Med Assoc. 2007;97(3):213–17.

- 66 percent of 44 patients in a subacute aged-care hospital reported wearing slippers or moccasins​

 

agcbikes

It is sometimes quite easy to marginalise footwear as a major contributor to falls but this is not always proven to be the case, as I am sure Hylton will confirm. Patterns of falls in the elderly are not as simple to explain as may appear at first sight and community dwelling elderly, frail ambulant and geriatric elderly demographics cannot be taken as homogenous. So it may be advisable to proceed with some caution when preparing foot care advice.

Certainly a good fit guide to slippers would be helpful and all the best with the project.

toeslayer

 

Once again thanks to all for your help. I really appreciate the guidance and for people to be willing to take the time to respond.
Cheers,
Al.

 

There are several points which interest me on this subject:

a) what is meant by "slipper"?
b) is this different from a house shoe? - If so which would be better for this age group?
c) what percentage of a day would it be suitable to wear non-outdoor footwear?
d) if a patient has lower limb oedema would it be better to avoid slippers in the morning?
e) is it possible to put orthotics in slippers?

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