The influence of ethnicity on patient reported outcome measures in people with diabetic foot ulcer disease: A systematic review
Why the research is needed
Diabetic foot ulcer disease (DFUD) is a common and life changing condition that can greatly affect overall health. The majority of research has focussed on how to prevent ulcers from developing, or how to treat them once they have developed. However, there is less research about how this condition affects overall health and life as reported by the patients themselves (called “patient-reported outcomes, PROs), and it is also not known if this is affected by things like patient ethnicity. Therefore, this review will investigate PROs in DFUD and how they are affected by patient characteristics.
What is already known about the subject
DFUD significantly impacts upon PROs, which analyse people’s perceptions of their disability, functionality and health, and assess how their condition affects their quality of life. As such, people with DFUD experience significantly reduced health-related quality of life, to a worse degree than those with diabetes without DFUD.
Who we will be working with
We will work with people with a history of DFUD and their family members and carers.
How patients and the public are involved
We will communicate with patients and the public to design and refine the review strategy, including what outcomes to include, how best to include these in the review, what types of papers are included in the review and how best to present and summarise the findings.
What we will do
Using patient and public input throughout, we will review all of the evidence to date that has presented or investigated PROs in DFUD. This will be done in a very structured way to ensure that we include all relevant evidence.
What the benefits will be
The main benefit will be a more evidence on how DFUD impacts PROs in different populations. Specifically, knowing how ethnicity impacts PROs will allow those at greatest risk of worsened health to be identified and supported, and will also help us to develop future strategies to support these individuals.
When the findings will be available
The research will be concluded in March 2024.
How we are planning for implementation
We are planning to use the research findings to update patient support and treatment strategies where possible. This may include updating guidelines or management strategies for these patients. Our research team includes members who have important roles in guiding these types of strategies, so we will be able to make sure that anything relevant discovered in our research is implemented in real-world practice.
Contact
Patrick Highton, Ph204@le.ac.uk