Working Right Ways: Investigating Health Practitioners' Perspectives of Foot Health and Needs for Providing Good Foot Care With and for First Nations Peoples.
6 affiliations
- 1Discipline of Podiatry, School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia.
- 2Wardliparingga Aboriginal Health Equity Unit, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, Australia.
- 3La Trobe University Rural Health School, Victoria, Australia.
- 4Independent First Nations Contributor, Warramunga-Wiradjuri Country, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- 5First Peoples Health Unit, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
- 6University of Newcastle, Gosford, New South Wales, Australia.
Abstract
Background
History of invasion, ongoing colonisation, and systemic racism excluding First Nations Peoples from healthcare are root causes of health inequalities including disparities in foot health outcomes. Sources of inquiry into current practice, learning, and experience, which may shape reform of providing good foot care with and for First Nations Peoples in the land now known as Australia are health practitioners working in the space. This work seeks to explore foot care service delivery by investigating First Nations and non-Indigenous health practitioners' perspectives regarding providing foot care with and for First Nations Peoples.Methods
Ways of working are documented in previous work; 'Working right ways in foot health with and for First Nations Peoples: research method guided and governed by First Nations ways of knowing, being, and doing in cross-sectional qualitative study design'. First Nations and non-Indigenous health practitioners provided perspectives with culturally responsive semi-structured interviews guiding talking with consenting participants. Coding utilised constant comparison techniques to explore patterns across the dataset. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.Results
Two talking points engaged health practitioners' perspectives of providing foot care with and for First Nations Peoples: (1) What does foot health mean to you as a First Nations or non-Indigenous health practitioner? (2) What are needs for providing good foot care with and for First Nations Peoples? Within responses, themes emerged of mobility and participation, overall health and wellbeing, clinical and biomedical perspective, and advocacy being related to the meaning of foot health. The requirements of cultural safety, workforce, and holistic care were perceived as needed for provision of good foot care with and for First Nations Peoples.Conclusion
Participants described a meaning of foot health that is relational to physical and spiritual constructs, and central to reclamation of, and continuation of, First Nations cultures; amidst a project of ongoing colonisation. Needs for good foot care provision with and for First Nations Peoples included a workforce continually learning and unlearning to develop cultural capabilities to work with and for, and support, First Nations foot health. This study provides distinct and real first-hand accounts from health practitioners working in the space which the podiatry profession must listen to and receive direction and learning from.
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BibTeX
@article{gerrard2026working,
title = {{Working Right Ways: Investigating Health Practitioners' Perspectives of Foot Health and Needs for Providing Good Foot Care With and for First Nations Peoples.}},
author = {James Gerrard and Shirley Godwin Badimaya Yamatji and Kim Whiteley Wiradjuri and James Charles Kaurna and Vivienne Chuter},
journal = {Journal of foot and ankle research},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/jfa2.70213},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42902448},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Working Right Ways: Investigating Health Practitioners' Perspectives of Foot Health and Needs for Providing Good Foot Care With and for First Nations Peoples.
AU - James Gerrard
AU - Shirley Godwin Badimaya Yamatji
AU - Kim Whiteley Wiradjuri
AU - James Charles Kaurna
AU - Vivienne Chuter
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - Journal of foot and ankle research
DO - 10.1002/jfa2.70213
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42902448
AB - Background History of invasion, ongoing colonisation, and systemic racism excluding First Nations Peoples from healthcare are root causes of health inequalities including disparities in foot health outcomes. Sources of inquiry into current practice, learning, and experience, which may shape reform of providing good foot care with and for First Nations Peoples in the land now known as Australia are health practitioners working in the space. This work seeks to explore foot care service delivery by investigating First Nations and non-Indigenous health practitioners' perspectives regarding providing foot care with and for First Nations Peoples.Methods Ways of working are documented in previous work; 'Working right ways in foot health with and for First Nations Peoples: research method guided and governed by First Nations ways of knowing, being, and doing in cross-sectional qualitative study design'. First Nations and non-Indigenous health practitioners provided perspectives with culturally responsive semi-structured interviews guiding talking with consenting participants. Coding utilised constant comparison techniques to explore patterns across the dataset. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.Results Two talking points engaged health practitioners' perspectives of providing foot care with and for First Nations Peoples: (1) What does foot health mean to you as a First Nations or non-Indigenous health practitioner? (2) What are needs for providing good foot care with and for First Nations Peoples? Within responses, themes emerged of mobility and participation, overall health and wellbeing, clinical and biomedical perspective, and advocacy being related to the meaning of foot health. The requirements of cultural safety, workforce, and holistic care were perceived as needed for provision of good foot care with and for First Nations Peoples.Conclusion Participants described a meaning of foot health that is relational to physical and spiritual constructs, and central to reclamation of, and continuation of, First Nations cultures; amidst a project of ongoing colonisation. Needs for good foot care provision with and for First Nations Peoples included a workforce continually learning and unlearning to develop cultural capabilities to work with and for, and support, First Nations foot health. This study provides distinct and real first-hand accounts from health practitioners working in the space which the podiatry profession must listen to and receive direction and learning from.
SN - 1757-1146
ER -