New JFAR research reveals barriers and motivators for studying podiatry
4 Oct 2024
Since 2015, podiatry enrolments at Australian and New Zealand universities have decreased by 17.3%. Not only does this pose a threat to the sustainability of our profession, leading to workforce shortages and increased workloads for existing podiatrists, it could also have an effect on the broader health and wellbeing of communities.
A lack of evidence on factors influencing people’s career choices and potential reasons for the decline in student enrolments led Australian podiatry research leaders to conduct a study to uncover the ‘why’ this is happening, and better understand some of the motivators and barriers behind the decline in podiatry student enrolments.
The findings have been shared in an important piece entitled, "Motivators and barriers for studying podiatry in Australia and New Zealand: A mixed methods study."** published recently in the Journal of Foot and Ankle Research (JFAR). Below we provide an overview of the research findings:
Key motivators for studying podiatry
Interest in a health-related career, the desire to make a difference to people's health, and opportunity to care for diverse populations (i.e. people from different backgrounds/age groups) were key motivating factors among podiatry students.
Barriers to studying podiatry
The study revealed barriers to studying podiatry were experienced by 28.1% of podiatry students. Some of the themes regarding career choice were identified as:
- lack of awareness of the profession
- negative stereotypes surrounding profession
- limited understanding of career pathways
- limited understanding of job prospects and earning potential
Outcomes and potential ways forward
Further work is required to help reverse the negative stereotypes and perceptions of podiatry and build knowledge of the profession's scope of practice, career pathways/opportunities, job prospects and earning potential. The study suggests potential solutions to help overcome some of the barriers to studying podiatry mentioned above. These are:
- increased awareness
- address negative stereotypes
- promote career pathways
- enhance visibility
- support systems
Keep an eye out for the October addition of STRIDE magazine where we take a deeper dive into the outcomes of this research and broader implications for the podiatry profession.
Podiatry Week 2024 (14-20 October)
This Podiatry Week, the APodA is asking people to think again about what they know about this key allied health profession. Aligning well with some of the ways forward listed in the study, our theme for Podiatry Week 2024 is ‘Podiatry, more than you think’.
It’s our time to raise awareness of the full scope of the podiatry profession and educate the community on the diverse ways we can support people’s health and wellbeing.
To find everything you need to be a podiatry champion during #PodiatryWeek2024, please click here. Additionally, the APodA Careers Toolkit addresses many of the recommendations in the study, please click here to access.
** "Motivators and barriers for studying podiatry in Australia and New Zealand: A mixed methods study." authored by: Kaminski, M. R., Whittaker, G. A., Robinson, C., Cotchett, M., Ho, M., Munteanu, S. E., Dollinger, M., Kazantzis, S., Li, X., Causby, R. S., Frecklington, M., Walmsley, S., Chuter, V., Casey, S. L., Hugo, B., & Bonanno, D. R. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1002/jfa2.70004
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