Observational studyBMC pediatrics2022
Are habitually barefoot children compelled to wear ill-fitting school shoes? A cross-sectional study.
Observational study in BMC pediatrics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence and Severity of Self-Assessed Hallux Valgus in Community-Dwelling Older South African and Flemish Individuals.Journal of foot and ankle research · 2026Observational
- High Rate of Change of the Foot in Ecuadorian Children: The Need for Proper Shoe Design.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundResearch shows that ill-fitting shoes can negatively impact the development of the pediatric foot, in a very direct manner. The primary aim of the study was to determine if the dimensions of available prescribed school shoes fit the foot dimensions of habitually barefoot South African children and adolescents.
methodsA cross-sectional observational study was conducted where static standing foot measurements of children and adolescents from urban and rural schools were obtained with a mobile caliper. The maximum heel-toe-length and foot width with an added 10 mm toe- and width fit allowance to each participant, were compared to the corresponding school shoe length and shoe width available in retail. A mixed model ANOVA was used to compare foot dimensions between gender, age and side.
resultsSix hundred and ninety-eight school children (N = 698) (431 girls; 267 boys; average age 10.86 years, SD = 2.55) were participants. A total of seventy-seven (N = 77) black coloured prescribed school shoes currently available in retail ranging from different styles and brands were measured. Results show that, comparing the shoe length and maximum heel-toe-length of participants, as well as taking 10 mm toe allowance into account, fifty-nine percent (59%) of children wore shoes that were not the correct length. With regards to the shoe width and the added 10 mm of width fit allowance, ninety-eight percent (98%) of the shoes worn by participants were too narrow for their feet.
conclusionsResults confirmed that school shoes currently available in retail, are not suited for the habitually barefoot population studied. It is recommended that the shoe manufacturing industry should consider the shoe width of school shoes for children and adolescents in habitually barefoot populations to avoid the long-term negative effect of ill-fitting shoes on the pediatric foot.
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