title: Footwear suitability in Turkish preschool-aged children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Unsuitable footwear worn in childhood may cause some foot problems by interfering normal development of foot.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare footwear suitability rate of indoor and outdoor footwear at all points in preschool children and investigate factors which could affect footwear suitability.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional survey study.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1000 healthy preschool children (4-6 years old) participated in this study. Indoor and outdoor footwear of children were evaluated through Turkish version of Footwear Assessment Score. Effect of factors like age, sex, number of siblings, educational and occupational situation of parents, and behavior of school management about selecting footwear was investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Children got better footwear score for outdoor than indoor ones (p < 0.001). Boys got statistically better footwear score for both indoor and outdoor ones than girls (p < 0.001). Also significant difference in footwear score was found in favor of children who were going to schools that gave guidance about selecting footwear for both indoor and outdoor in comparison to children going to other schools (p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For healthy foot development, parents need an education about suitable footwear for their children. Performing education programs and investigation of their effect with comprehensive follow-up studies in future is essential.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study reflects footwear habits of Turkish preschool children and factors affecting this issue. Results may give way to education programs about suitable footwear worn in childhood for healthy foot development.
authors.affiliation: Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey fzt.yasinyurt@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Yasin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yurt
authors.affiliation: Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gul
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sener
authors.affiliation: Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yavuz
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yakut
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D005528:Foot / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012775:Shoes; D014421:Turkey
keywords: Footwear; foot health; preschool children