Other international resources
Wounds International best practice guides
Free downloadable best practice statements on diabetic foot ulcer wound management, dressing choice and exudate management, alongside the Asia-Pacific consensus document. Useful as quick-reference clinical aids.
Step by Step and Train the Foot Trainer programs — World Diabetes Foundation with the IWGDF, IDF and local partners, 2003 to present
Structured three-day basic and advanced training courses with a screening interval between them, audiovisual education materials, and supply of 10 g monofilaments and 128 Hz tuning forks to participants. Delivered in Tanzania, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and several Pacific settings. A train-the-trainer model for establishing foot clinics, including free examination kits for graduates.
A diabetic foot wound healing assessment tool: a scoping review (2023)
A summary of the evidence on the accuracy, reliability and validity of diabetic foot ulcer wound assessment tools, and how to apply them in clinical settings.
Identifying and treating foot ulcers in patients with diabetes: saving feet, legs and lives — Journal of Wound Care, 2018
Assessment, referral, multidisciplinary prevention and treatment strategies, with guidance on distinguishing diabetic foot ulcers from pressure ulcers to reduce misdiagnosis. (Subscription may be required)
Australia and New Zealand
Guidelines and clinical pathways
2021 Australian Evidence-Based Guidelines for Diabetes-Related Foot Disease — Diabetes Feet Australia, a division of the Australian Diabetes Society, 2021
Adapted from the IWGDF guidelines, with ten interactive digital decision-making pathways covering prevention, screening, wound healing, offloading, infection, peripheral artery disease, Charcot neuroarthropathy and footwear. (Available online and as PDFs)
Diabetes and Feet Toolkit — Diabetes Australia and the National Diabetes Services Scheme, 2023
A point-of-care companion to the guidelines, summarising each recommendation alongside implementation considerations and clinical pathways. Written for multidisciplinary teams.
Quality standards for diabetes care toolkit — New Zealand Ministry of Health, 2014
Standards for the management of diabetes complications, intended to inform local service planning and to be read alongside other national guidance. (PDF download available)
Service standards, accreditation and data
NADC Collaborative Interdisciplinary Diabetes High Risk Foot Service Standards (Version 2.0) — National Association of Diabetes Centres, 2022
National standards covering governance, team composition, clinical pathways, education, audit and quality improvement, paired with a national accreditation program. A structural framework for establishing and sustaining interdisciplinary foot disease services.
Australian Diabetes Foot Registry — National Association of Diabetes Centres and the Australian Diabetes Society
Standardised REDCap-based data collection across participating high risk foot services, with annual benchmarking reports. Useful as a minimum data set and audit template adaptable to other regions.
Telehealth foot service webinar — Central Adelaide Local Health Network, 2022
A recorded webinar describing how a telehealth-enabled high risk foot service was established and run — a working model for delivering specialist input to remote sites.
Continuing professional development
DF Learn webinars and podcasts — Diabetes Feet Australia
Free clinical and research-focused webinars and podcasts on evidence-based foot disease care.
Foot Forward Aboriginal Health Worker Training Package — Foot Forward. Culturally tailored screening and education training for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers and practitioners. A community health worker training model that transfers well to other community-controlled settings.
Resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
These materials were developed for community contexts with a limited podiatry workforce, language and literacy diversity, and a strong community health worker model. They are included here because that combination is shared by many Pacific Island settings, and because they demonstrate what locally produced, culturally tailored education looks like in practice.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Diabetes-Related Foot Complications Program — South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, 2023.
A clinician-facing resource package on culturally safe assessment, management and referral.
Diabetes-related foot amputation resources — South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, 2025
Audiovisual resources on amputation experiences and prevention in Aboriginal communities. A storytelling model for patient and community education that adapts readily to other languages and cultures.
Kimberley Foot Initiative resources — Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services, 2025
A locally developed package supporting a region-wide foot initiative in remote Western Australia, including screening, referral and education tools. A working example of a remote, community-controlled foot care program.
Offloading kit: primary health care support foot book — Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory, 2025
A practical, step-by-step handbook supporting the use of offloading devices by non-specialist primary care staff. Particularly valuable where specialist offloading services are not available.
Ingke arntarnte-areme — looking after feet: diabetes foot story — Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, 2023
An Arrernte-language patient narrative told in first person. An exemplar of in-language, narrative patient education.
Patient education
Diabetes and your feet — Diabetes Australia
Plain-language patient information on daily foot care, footwear and when to seek help. Suitable for adaptation and translation.
Foot health — Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute
Our own plain-language guide for people living with diabetes, covering how diabetes affects circulation and nerve supply, daily foot care and how often to have feet checked.
Asia and the Pacific
Diabetic foot ulcer care in the Asia-Pacific region — Wounds International, 2020
An international consensus document on assessment, investigation, infection and clinical treatment, with an emphasis on patient-centred care.
Best practice guidelines for ASEANPlus: management of diabetic foot wounds — ASEAN Wound Expert Group, representing Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand
Recommendations on the prevention, assessment, investigation and treatment of foot ulcers and amputation, developed to raise the standard of care across ASEAN Plus countries.
Malaysian clinical practice guidelines for management of diabetic foot: a synopsis for the primary care physician (2021)
A condensed guide to diagnosis, history taking, physical examination, classification, treatment and referral, written specifically for primary care.
Executive summary of the DAROC clinical practice guidelines for diabetes care — Diabetes Association of the Republic of China (Taiwan), 2018
Recommendations on diagnosis, screening, treatment and laboratory testing of diabetes complications. (Subscription may be required)
National guidelines for the prevention and control of diabetes in primary care — Chinese Medical Association, 2025
Covers diagnosis, classification, monitoring, screening, assessment and treatment of foot disease, the role of traditional Chinese medicine, referral thresholds and health education. Applies to primary care of adults with type 2 diabetes. (Published in Chinese)
Middle East
Unmet needs in managing diabetic foot and its complications: recommendations for the Gulf region — Gulf Diabetic Foot Working Group with Wounds International, 2024
A regional adaptation of the IWGDF guidelines covering prevention, assessment and care, with detailed sections on vascular disease, foot ulcers, infection, osteomyelitis and Charcot foot. (PDF download available)
Quick guide: diabetic foot ulcer wound management — Wounds International, 2014
A brief reference on optimising wound management and avoiding amputation.
Africa
Handbook: diabetes footcare in dark skin tones — Diabetes Africa, 2024
Guidance on clinical assessment, tools and testing, with visual guides. Addresses a significant gap in most foot assessment resources, where clinical signs are described and illustrated in lighter skin tones.
WHASA consensus document on the management of the diabetic foot — Wound Healing Association of Southern Africa, 2015
Principles of prevention and ulcer treatment within the African context, developed by a multidisciplinary panel and verified by independent international experts. (PDF download available)
