Students and lecturers from the University of South Australia have been conducting podiatry services to outback Indigenous communities. Podiatry is the investigation and treatment of foot disorders.

UNISA senior lecturer Dr Sara Jones said that the outback clinics provide a great opportunity to expose podiatry students to clinical settings and other health professionals and conditions that they might not otherwise experience.

“Spending a week in an outback community helps students develop their clinical skills and reasoning to a much greater level and gives them far more insight, understanding and appreciation of podiatry practice than a whole semester of theoretical teaching,” Dr Jones said.

Most of the time students address foot problems by looking at footwear but the Ngaanyatjarra people in Western Australia don’t wear shoes so the range of foot problems is quite different.

Footwear related problems like corns, calluses, ingrown toe nails or bunions are not to be seen, but a lot of the foot injuries in the outback are activity related, particularly during the football season. With limited facilities, students have to improvise using temporary padding and tape to treat injuries.

The biggest problem potentially around diabetes, where loss of feeling in feet can result in many complications including infections that can lead to lower limb amputation.

“The UNISA students take a holistic approach to podiatry, which gives them a much better understanding of not just feet and the conditions affecting them, but also social and equity issues and the various limitations associated with that,” Dr Jones said.