Every four hours, someone across Canada has a lower limb amputation due to a non-healing or infected diabetic foot ulcer (Diabetes Canada, 2015). Research shows this number is on the rise, with the average lower-limb amputation rate in Ontario twice as high as other high-income jurisdictions with publicly funded health systems (Hussain et al., 2019; Behrendt, 2018).
Regular foot care and foot checks can reduce complications; however, roughly half of Canadians with diabetes do not participate in screening (Boodoo et al., 2018).
November is Diabetes Awareness Month and World Diabetes Day is November 14, 2023!
Wounds Canada is pleased to join our partners in the Limb Preservation Alliance by participating in this important campaign to raise awareness of and confront diabetes as a critical global health issue.
Limb Preservation Alliance
Earlier this year Wounds Canada joined forces with the American Limb Preservation Society, the Canadian Podiatric Association and D-Foot International to create a Limb Preservation Alliance to address, promote and advocate for limb preservation. The new alliance aligns with Wounds Canada’s mission to enable health-care providers to improve their practice and ensure the best possible care for persons with wounds or at risk for developing wounds.
Click here to view the Media Release.
Important stats about Diabetes
(in English and French)
What can you do to raise awareness during Diabetes Awareness Month and World Diabetes Day?
Get involved!
- Follow Wounds Canada on social media, and amplify our message and important prevention resources throughout the month of November.
- Use the hashtags #DiabetesAwarenessMonth and #WorldDiabetesDay to post your own awareness message and join the global conversation.
- Share your diabetes story 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.
- Attend one of D-Foot International's Diabetes Awareness Week events, click here for more information.
Learn more and share!
- Wounds Canada resources:
- Every person with diabetes and foot complications can learn the importance of self-management. Wounds Canada has a variety of resources to help patients, caregivers, health-care providers and policy makers act to prevent amputations on our Wounds Canada and Diabetes, Healthy Feet and You websites.
- 60-second Diabetic Foot Screening in English and French
- How to Examine your Feet card in English and French
- Care at Home Series: Diabetic Foot Complications - When it is an Emergency? in English and French
- Best Practice Recommendations (BPR) (Chapter 6: Prevention and Management of Diabetic Foot Ulcers)
- BPR Briefs on diabetic foot ulcers
- Diabetic Foot Ulcer page for key resources to share.
- Diabetic Footcare Pathway (image also shown below)
- Wound Care Canada magazine and Limb Preservation Journal
- Patient and caregiver stories series: Our Voices, Our Stories
- Wounds Canada Institute programs:
- Other resources and events
- International Diabetes Federation resources, including posters and fact sheets and their media materials package and resources.
- D-Foot International Diabetes Awareness Week virtual events taking place throughout the week, visit their website for your region's event date.
Diabetic Footcare Pathway
We can’t do this alone; your support can make a difference in wound care in Canada.
Please donate to Wounds Canada today to support our journey toward a common goal:
patients, families and health-care teams working hand in hand to better prevent and care for wounds.