Diabetic Foot Care in Patients with Mental Illness

Foot disorder pathologies, caused by diabetes mellitus, result in diminishing the quality of life for patients and straining the economic fabric of both governmental institutions and private organizations. Patients afflicted with diabetes suffer from disabilities, which can in many cases lead to foot amputation and other various complications. Often, patients also suffer from chronic pain caused by diabetic foot neuropathy, which may make them unable to continue with their employment and have a negative effect on their daily lives. Patients with mental health disorders are adversely affected by diabetic foot pathologies due to their lack of timely follow-up and limited access to medical providers. The goal of this Practicum experience was to develop and deliver a PowerPoint presentation to provide clinical guidance and education to primary care clinicians who evaluate diabetic patients (many with mental health issues) who otherwise might not have an opportunity to be evaluated by a podiatrist in a timely manner. This author created the PowerPoint presentation based on the review of literature and the input from the committee members. The PowerPoint presentation on diabetic foot care was limited to the primary care clinical staff at the Queens County Medical Center in Queens, New York. The purpose of the practicum is for these clinicians to learn how to perform a comprehensive evaluation of the lower extremities in patients with diabetes, including awareness of risk factors prone to increasing risk of foot ulceration, screening for neurological foot deficits, analyzing treatment options for patients with diabetic foot maladies, and exploring prevention strategies to prevent diabetic foot complications.