Looking After Feet

Ingke Arntarnte-areme

Looking after your feet is important, especially if you are living with diabetes. Your feet are at a greater risk of injury when you have diabetes, because you may lose feeling in your feet which makes it harder to notice cuts and sores. These can lead to infection. You may also have reduced blood flow to your feet, which makes it harder for a cut or sore to heal.

If you have any worries about your feet, you should always visit your local foot doctor. The Congress podiatry team are here to work with you, click here to find out more and contact the Congress foot doctor – Foot Health – Central Australian Aboriginal Congress (caac.org.au)

The people, families, and Communities of Mparntwe and surrounding areas have led the Congress Allied Health team in creating a series of resources that talk about how diabetes can affect our feet. Find out what can you do to look after your feet and keep them healthy in these resources below:

You can download the app

You can take foot health advice with you anywhere! Download the Congress Foot Health App for information not just in English, but in a selection of First Languages from within Central Australia. It’s like having a foot doctor in your pocket!

You can watch the videos

This video talks about what diabetes is and how too much sugar in the blood can affect our bodies.
This video talks about how diabetes can lead to foot problems. This includes things to look out for including losing feeling, slower blood flow, skin dryness and risk of infection to our feet.
This video talks about how we can look after our feet. It talks about centring culture in keeping our feet strong and gives examples of ways to practice self-care with healthy feet.

To watch the above videos in more languages (including Arrernte, Pintupi, Warlpiri, and Anmatyerr), visit Congress’ Youtube channel.

You can look at these illustrations

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These illustrations are about ‘Looking At Feet’.

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These illustrations are about ‘Keeping Feet Strong’.

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These illustrations are about ‘Healing Feet’.

You can flip through these conversation cards

Download these print-ready Conversation Cards and start a conversation about feet today!

If you would like a hard copy, please get in touch and we will endeavour to send a copy.

Email podiatry@caac.org.au

You can print these posters

Download these print-ready Posters and talk about feet today!
If you would like a hard copy, please get in touch and we will endeavour to send a copy.

Email podiatry@caac.org.au

You can listen to the song, “Ancestor’s Footsteps”

Listen to the message from Arrernte man William Lowah.
Sing along and share the message about looking after feet!

Download the MP3 (7MB)

If you would like a hard copy of the lyrics, please get in touch and we will endeavour to send a copy: email podiatry@caac.org.au

Advocacy, Education, and Engagement

This project additionally works to strengthen health provider workforce capacity to keep feet healthy, to advocate for equity in foot healthcare delivery, to increase the Aboriginal Health Workforce, and to provide foot health education. The Looking After Feet project has worked with Indigenous Allied Health Australia, Flinders University, Mental Health Association of Central Australia, Tangentyere Council, and Children’s Ground in these pursuits. If you would like to contact the Looking After Feet project to work with you or your organisation to help bring benefits to individuals, families and Communities, please email podiatry@caac.org.au to discuss.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Diabetes-related Foot Complications Program is funded through the Indigenous Australians’ Health Programme (IAHP), a Commonwealth Government initiative.