fore, footcare nurses play an important role in multidisciplinary coordination, such as for commu-nication of patient information across team members and interdepartmental treatment transfers. They also collaborate with those involved in nursing care insurance and home medical care to support patients’ home care needs, to manage footcare within the range that can be implemented in the home environment, and to promote team medical care that includes those outside the hospital.Therefore, several medical and nursing personnel from and outside hospitals participate in the foot-care team. The footcare nurse plays a key role as a team coordinator, to support the transfer of treat-ment across various departments and professionals and for effective team functioning to ensure that patients receive the best and prompt medical care.6. Role of foot care nurses in education and awareness activitiesWestern podiatry service are not available in Japan; therefore, the approach to foot lesions differs across medical centers/hospitals, which results in non-standardized medical care available to patients29）. Reportedly, lower extremity amputation is preferred over revascularization in patients with severely injured ischemic extremities, patients with deformed feet or nail abnormalities may remain untreated, and patients may develop pres-sure ulcers secondary to the use of thrombopro-phylactic elastic stockings27）. Currently, it is neces-sary to improve awareness among the Japanese involved in medical and nursing care and welfare in the field of limb salvage and footcare.To address these concerns, the Japanese Society of Footcare and Podiatry has designated February 10 as Footcare Day and is actively involved in improving awareness regarding this important issue. Additionally, the society certifies footcare instructors who “aim to improve the footcare abili-ties (knowledge and skills) of patients and care providers and play a leading role in each field”30, 31）. Most footcare instructors are nurses who provide care in hospitals, as home health care aids, and home nursing care and also educate medical personnel, as well as patients and their families. Footcare nurses serve as models for footcare prac-titioners with their specialized knowledge and skills and are responsible for fostering footcare 220teams through their activities.The establishment of an “additional fee for guid-ance and management of peripheral arterial disease of the lower extremities” in 2016 has focused atten-tion on early identification of high-risk patients with lower extremity blood flow disorders32）. This medical fee enables referrals of high-risk patients with foot lesions to specialized hospitals. Footcare for ischemic extremities is not widely available in Japan currently; therefore, footcare nurses need to provide education to collaborating medical centers to ensure that the medical staff at the referral centers can continue patient care.In Japan, owing to the cultural background, routine footcare is not widely recognized; therefore, public education is necessary to ensure that care of feet and their disorders are not neglected. It is important to improve awareness regarding the importance of footcare in the general population because even individuals without access to medical care include high-risk patients with foot lesions. In view of the increasing life expectancy and longevity trends in Japan, fall prevention and steps to prevent bedriddenness among the elderly population are important. Foot health also plays an important role in the national policy of extending healthy life expectancy. Optimal footcare can help individuals to regain their foot health, and those who receive footcare can serve as models of healthy longevity to improve awareness regarding footcare across the general population.In this section, we discuss foot lesions associated with the maintenance of ambulation and the role of footcare nurses in the treatment of these disorders. Footcare is the mainstay of treatment for foot lesions and is necessary for all aspects of life, ranging from prevention to treatment and there-after. In an aging society, the need for footcare will continue to increase. Therefore, there is an increasing need to train footcare nurses to play an active role in establishing a culture in which foot-care is performed on a daily basis as an essential component of an individual’s health care, similar to the practice followed in Western countries.Not applicable.7. ConclusionAcknowledgements
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