RESEARCH Open Access

Patient and clinician views on the quality of foot health care for rheumatoid arthritis outpatients: a mixed methods service evaluation Savia de Souza1,2*, Ruth Williams1 and Heidi Lempp1 Background: Feet are often the first site of joint involvement in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and get progressively worse if unmanaged, leading to permanent disability and negatively impacting patients ’ quality of life. Podiatrists are specialists in the assessment, diagnosis and management of foot and ankle problems, however, RA outpatients often rely on referral from rheumatology clinicians to gain access to musculoskeletal podiatry services on the UK National Health Service (NHS). Therefore, the aim of this evaluation was to identify the foot health needs of rheumatoid arthritis patients and if they are being met by rheumatology clinicians. Methods: A mixed methods approach was used: collecting qualitative data from patients and quantitative data from clinicians. Two focus groups were conducted with nine RA patients from a tertiary rheumatology outpatient clinic in the UK and the data were thematically analysed to inform a clinician survey. Thirteen rheumatology clinicians, from th