Motivators and Barriers for Studying Podiatry in Australia and New Zealand: A Mixed Methods Study

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aut.relation.journalJournal of Foot and Ankle Research
dc.contributor.authorKaminski, M
dc.contributor.authorWhittaker, G
dc.contributor.authorRobinson, C
dc.contributor.authorCotchett, M
dc.contributor.authorHo, Malia
dc.contributor.authorMunteanu, S
dc.contributor.authorDollinger, M
dc.contributor.authorKazantzis, S
dc.contributor.authorLi, Xia
dc.contributor.authorCausby, R
dc.contributor.authorFrecklington, Michael
dc.contributor.authorWalmsley, S
dc.contributor.authorChuter, V
dc.contributor.authorCasey, S
dc.contributor.authorHugo, B
dc.contributor.authorBonanno, D
dc.date.accessioned2024-09-05T23:15:15Z
dc.date.available2024-09-05T23:15:15Z
dc.date.issued2024-09-04
dc.description.abstractBackground Podiatry enrolments at Australian and New Zealand universities have decreased by 17.3% since 2015, which threatens the profession's sustainability and the health and wellbeing of Australian and New Zealand people and communities. Reasons for this decline remain unclear due to insufficient evidence on factors influencing career choices. The overarching aim of this study was to identify motivators and barriers for studying podiatry in Australia and New Zealand. Methods This study used a convergent mixed methods design. Students enrolled in (i) podiatry and (ii) relevant non-podiatry health, sport or science programs at nine Australian and one New Zealand university, were invited to participate in an online survey. First-year podiatry students were also invited to participate in an online workshop. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and linear/logistic regression models. Three independent assessors used inductive thematic analysis for the qualitative data. Results Overall, 278 podiatry students (mean age 24.9 ± 8.5 years, 65.1% female) and 553 non-podiatry students (mean age 24.8 ± 8.2 years, 75.4% female; 32.2% from physiotherapy and 29.1% from occupational therapy) responded to the survey. Interest in a health-related career, wanting to make a difference to people's health, and opportunity to care for people from different backgrounds/age groups were key motivating factors among podiatry students. Barriers to studying podiatry were encountered by 28.1% of podiatry students. Thematic analysis identified seven themes concerning career choice, which are as follows: (i) awareness of profession and scope of practice; (ii) stereotypes and negative perceptions of the profession; (iii) awareness of career pathways; (iv) job prospects and earning potential; (v) working with people and building relationships; (vi) podiatry is not the first preference; and (vii) barriers which limit student enrolment. Conclusions There are a variety of factors that motivate and influence students to study podiatry, however, altruistic reasons are most highly rated. Allied health students have limited understanding of the scope of practice and career opportunities in podiatry. Additionally, the podiatry profession often faces negative stereotypes. Further work is required to 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.
dc.identifier.citationJournal of Foot and Ankle Research, ISSN: 1757-1146 (Print); 1757-1146 (Online), BMC.
dc.identifier.doi10.1002/jfa2.70004
dc.identifier.issn1757-1146
dc.identifier.issn1757-1146
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10292/17984
dc.publisherBMC
dc.relation.urihttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jfa2.70004
dc.rights© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Foot and Ankle Research published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Podiatry Association and The Royal College of Podiatry. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
dc.rights.accessrightsOpenAccess
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subject1103 Clinical Sciences
dc.subject1104 Complementary and Alternative Medicine
dc.subject1106 Human Movement and Sports Sciences
dc.subject3202 Clinical sciences
dc.subject4201 Allied health and rehabilitation science
dc.subject4207 Sports science and exercise
dc.titleMotivators and Barriers for Studying Podiatry in Australia and New Zealand: A Mixed Methods Study
dc.typeJournal Article
pubs.elements-id567970
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