Four out of five lower limb amputations related to diabetic foot complications can be prevented.
Join Us in Raising Awareness this May!
There’s lots of ways to participate.
Everyone from patients and caregivers to health-care providers and policy makers has a role to play in healthy foot management and the prevention of diabetes-related amputations. Join us on social media this May to raise awareness for this important cause and to take steps towards enacting positive change in our health-care systems. Download our communications plan here!
#Savethe4
#FootHealthAwarenessMonth
#ActAgainstAmputation
1. SaveThe4 Selfie
Take a four-finger selfie to represent the four limbs that could be saved with increased awareness of diabetic foot complications. Post your photo using our hashtags and encourage friends and colleagues to do the same! Tag us on Instagram and Twitter at @WoundsCanada.
2. Snap a Photo with One of Our Printable Posters
3. Create Your Own Social Media Message or Use Our Suggested Posts
Create your own social media messaging on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn using our hashtags and the suggested key messages and social media examples below. Tag us, along with local MPPs, MLAs, MPs and non-profits. Share our #SaveThe4 infographic in French or English, along with the Amputation Prevention Infographic for whatever province you reside in:
- Ontario infographic;
- BC infographic;
- Alberta infographic;
- Saskatchewan infographic;
- Manitoba infographic;
- New Brunswick infographic;
- Nova Scotia infographic;
- PEI infographic;
- Newfoundland and Labrador infographic.
4. Check Out Our Custom Instagram Stickers!
Add something special to your Instagram stories by using our brand-new Wounds Canada Foot Health Awareness months stickers! Search Wounds Canada, Foot Health Awareness Month, Save The 4 or Act Against Amputation in the GIPHY search bar to find them. And don't forgot to tag us!
5. Share Your Own Wound Care Story
Share your story related to #FootHealthAwarenessMonth as a patient, caregiver or health-care provider on social media and through our online submission portals: Patient/Caregiver Stories and Health-care Provider Stories.
6. Amplify the Message in Your Communities
Contact your local radio station, newspaper and community groups and let them know about #FootHealthAwarenessMonth!
Key Messages to Share
- Every patient with diabetes and foot complications can #SaveThe4 by learning the importance of self-management. Wounds Canada has a variety of resources to help patients, caregivers, health-care providers and policy makers #SaveThe4 and #ActAgainstAmputation on our Wounds Canada and Diabetes, Healthy Feet and You websites. (We’ll be highlighting our favourites throughout the month. Please share any that you find helpful!)
- The lifetime risk of developing a foot ulcer for diabetic patients may be as high as 25%, but could be drastically lowered through simple preventative measures like an integrated diabetic foot care pathway.
- There are five key elements that underpin efforts to prevent foot ulcers: identifying the at-risk foot; regularly inspecting and examining the at-risk foot; educating the patient, family and health- care providers; ensuring routine wearing of appropriate footwear; and treating risk factors for ulceration.
- One in four of all people with diabetes who have a loss of sensation to their feet will develop an ulcer in their lifetime. Four out of five of the resulting amputations are preventable. Every day 14 people lose a lower limb due to a diabetic foot ulcer that did not heal properly.
- The pandemic has left our long-term care homes are in crisis, our health-care systems strained and our health-care providers burnt out. Patients need to receive holistic, patient-centred care from interprofessional health-care teams. To reduce unnecessary hospitalizations, governments need to ensure people with diabetes receive the integrated care they need to prevent complications like diabetic foot ulcers and amputations.
Sample Social Media Posts
- According to @DiabetesCanada, 5000 amputations due to diabetic foot problems happen every year! But 4000 of those are preventable. Join us during #FootHealthAwarenessMonth to raise awareness through our #SaveThe4 campaign. Image suggestion: your own #SaveThe4 selfie!
- If you’re #diabetic with no history of foot complications, do you still have to do foot inspections? YES!!! Diabetics should see their doctor every 3-12 months and screen their own feet regularly to prevent ulcers and other complications. Check out the amazing resource below for more information: https://www.woundscanada.ca/docman/public/1829-diabetic-foot-complications-a-tab-1823e-final/file. Let's #SaveThe4 together. Image suggestion: #SaveThe4 infographic.
- Time is tissue. 1/3 people with diabetes over the age of 50 have peripheral arterial disease. Our new vascular pathway emphasizes the importance of regular screening, early identification, timely assessment and best-practice treatment of a vascular wound. Let's #SaveThe4 together and #ActAgainstAmputation. Image suggestion: our vascular pathway thumbnail infographic.
- When is it an emergency? Diabetic foot complications can have serious consequences if not recognized and treated promptly and properly. Learn to spot the signs and #ActAgainst Amputation: https://www.woundscanada.ca/docman/public/patient-or-caregiver/1728-home-safe-df-care-1942e/file. Image suggestion: I Support Foot Health poster.
- Have you checked your feet lately? | Avez-vous inspecté vos pieds dernièrement? | هل اتفقدتو اقدامكم حديثا؟ | Clinicians, #ActAgainstAmputation and follow the link below to access our foot health poster, available in 13 languages! https://www.woundscanada.ca/for-clinicians/241-diabetic-healthy-feet-and-you/for-clinicians/270-have-you-checked-your-feet-lately *feel free to translate this phrase into any other language you know!*