1School of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia 5001 Australia.
2International Centre for Allied Health Evidence, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia 5001 Australia.
J Foot Ankle Res. 2019 Aug 13;12:42. doi: 10.1186/s13047-019-0353-y. eCollection 2019.
Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a common condition in children affecting motor coordination. This impacts on academic performance, and activities of daily living. Literature surrounding interventions for DCD has focused mostly on physical and occupational therapies. However, it is known that children with DCD present to podiatrists as these children often also have abnormalities in lower limb functioning associated with the condition. This study aimed to determine current knowledge of Australian podiatrists regarding presentation, assessment, and management of children with developmental coordination disorder.
A single-round survey, developed using SurveyMonkey®, was completed by a sample of Australian podiatrists. Data were collected through either online or paper means. Participants were asked about their familiarity with DCD and depending on their response, were directed via skip logic to questions on presentation, assessment and management strategies of DCD in children. Participants were also asked about their willingness and preferences for further education on DCD. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the data.
There were 365 Australian podiatrists who completed the survey. There were 30% ( = 109) who reported being familiar with DCD as a diagnosis, while a further 37% ( = 134) reported familiarity with alternate or outdated terminology associated with the DCD diagnosis. Participants who were familiar with DCD or terminology relating to DCD, showed good knowledge of signs and symptoms associated with DCD. Both familiar and unfamiliar participants favoured referral to other health professionals over completing assessments. Common podiatric management strategies such as footwear advice, orthoses, and strength training were the most frequently chosen by both groups, despite current evidence only supporting strength training as an intervention. Participants were willing to receive education on DCD through a range of both online and in-person mediums.
The majority of Australian podiatrists were unfamiliar with DCD, despite its prevalence and symptomology falling within the podiatric scope. However, participants did overwhelmingly show willingness to receive further education on DCD. Further research should consider understanding the role of podiatrists in the assessment and management of children with DCD and the impact of the type of treatment strategies that may be provided.
发育性协调障碍（DCD）是一种常见的儿童运动协调障碍。这会影响学业成绩和日常生活活动。围绕 DCD 干预的文献主要集中在物理和职业治疗上。然而，众所周知，患有 DCD 的儿童会去看足病医生，因为这些儿童的下肢功能也常常存在与该疾病相关的异常。本研究旨在确定澳大利亚足病医生对发育性协调障碍儿童的表现、评估和管理的现有知识。
使用 SurveyMonkey®开发的一轮单调查，由澳大利亚足病医生样本完成。数据通过在线或纸质方式收集。参与者被问及他们对 DCD 的熟悉程度，根据他们的回答，通过跳逻辑被引导到关于 DCD 儿童表现、评估和管理策略的问题。参与者还被问及他们对 DCD 进一步教育的意愿和偏好。使用描述性统计来描述数据。
有 365 名澳大利亚足病医生完成了调查。有 30%（=109）报告熟悉 DCD 作为一种诊断，而另有 37%（=134）报告熟悉与 DCD 诊断相关的替代或过时术语。熟悉 DCD 或与 DCD 相关术语的参与者对与 DCD 相关的体征和症状表现出良好的认识。熟悉和不熟悉的参与者都倾向于将患者转介给其他健康专业人员进行评估。常见的足病管理策略，如鞋类建议、矫形器和力量训练，是两组都最常选择的，尽管目前的证据仅支持力量训练作为一种干预措施。参与者愿意通过一系列在线和面对面的方式接受 DCD 教育。
尽管 DCD 的患病率及其症状学在足病范围内，但大多数澳大利亚足病医生对 DCD 并不熟悉。然而，参与者表现出强烈的意愿接受进一步的 DCD 教育。进一步的研究应考虑了解足病医生在评估和管理 DCD 儿童中的作用，以及可能提供的治疗策略类型的影响。
