Bengaluru: “Project Safe Feet -Safe Ride”, a diabetic foot disease awareness and screening campaign was launched today by – Sri Randeep, IAS, Honourable Commissioner, Department of Health and Family Welfare Services, Government of Karnataka at Karnataka Institute of Endocrinology and Research.
The campaign is led by Dr Sanjay Sharma, founder of FootSecure, and Secretary of Indian Podiatry Association, Karnataka. The campaign is being supported by the Government of Karnataka, Health and Family Welfare Services, and Aarogyaseva. The project aims to create awareness about Diabetic Foot Disease amongst the general population and educate clinicians on early diagnosis and treatment.
Diabetes and foot conditions
In India, an estimated 74 million people were diabetic in 2021.
Every 20 seconds, a limb is lost due to diabetes. About 200 million persons worldwide develop diabetic foot ulcers over the course of their lifetime.
In India it is estimated that nearly 37 million people will have neuropathy. Neuropathy is damage or dysfunction of one or more nerves that often results in numbness, tingling, muscle weakness and pain. It mostly affects the hands and feet of diabetic patients.
24 million people will possibly develop a foot ulcer, leading to 4 million amputations, of which 80% can be prevented with a podiatric intervention.
The 5-year mortality rate post major amputation in diabetics is about 50%, which is beyond the mortality due to cancer.
Phase 1- March to September 2022 -Awareness creation among the medical community
Post this launch on March 26, a series of awareness talks, workshops, webinars shall be held across medical colleges and district hospitals across Karnataka to create awareness among clinicians, surgeons and PG students about the nuances of prevention and management of Diabetic Foot Conditions and enroll them for the next phase of the awareness campaign, that will be held from September 9 to 29, 2022.
“The current approach to diabetic food disease in India is diverse and depends on the branch of medicine that the doctor specializes in. Podiatry, a speciality in medicine that deals exclusively with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the legs is not taught in Indian medical colleges, and is not commonly accepted or recognised in India as a branch of medicine. We would like to create awareness so that clinicians across towns, villages and cities can prevent diabetic foot disease, as well as refer them in time to specialists to
prevent amputations,” says Dr Sanjay Sharma, who has over 10 years’ experience in podiatric surgery in USA and India.
Phase 2 – September 2022 – Bike ride and screening camps across all districts across Karnataka
“Neuropathic conditions in diabetics lead to the inability to ride or drive, as there is a loss of sensation in the foot, making it difficult to assess the pressure delivered on the accelerator or the brakes, leading to accidents, posing a potential risk to themselves and the public. That’s one of the reasons why we wanted to conduct a motorcycle drive throughout the State to raise awareness about this condition,” said Dr Sanjay Sharma.
The team of doctors, clinicians, and volunteers from the medical community who will be trained during the first phase of the campaign, will be led by Dr Sanjay Sharma, to embark upon a journey, to create awareness amongst population at large on preventing diabetic foot conditions. During the 20 -day ride from 9th September 2022, the team will ride 3,500 kilometers across 31 districts of Karnataka, halting in about 90 prominent towns and villages, addressing and screening the population for diabetic foot conditions. The campaign hopes to reach out to about 300 clinicians and about 300,000 population of the State through 15 medical colleges. In each district, the doctors and students trained locally will voluntarily assist at these screening camps to be held at district and taluka hospitals. The aim is to prevent ulcerations, amputations and mortality due to diabetic foot disease.
Anyone from the medical community who wishes to volunteer for this campaign can reach Dr Sanjay Sharma on sanjay@footsecure.com
