Podiatrist / Senior Lecturer & Course Coordinator
La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
Dr. Anita Raspovic
Dr Raspovic is a registered podiatrist and registered psychologist (with AHPRA). She graduated with podiatry honours from La Trobe University (1992), and went on to complete a Doctor of Philosophy by research (2006), a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Curriculum, Teaching and Learning (2011), a Graduate Diploma in Psychology (2015), Honours in Psychology (2018) and a Master of Clinical Psychology at La Trobe University (2021).
Across her career, Dr Raspovic has undertaken a variety of roles in clinical practice, education, research and project work. She is currently a Senior Lecturer and the Course Co-ordinator at La Trobe University, Podiatry. Dr Raspovic’s PhD research focused on lower limb biomechanical alterations in diabetes-related neuropathic foot ulceration. Since undertaking more recent studies in psychology, her research interests have expanded to include; psychosocial aspects of the foot in diabetes, the measurement and impacts of foot ulcer-related psychological distress, body image and health behaviour influences and change. Dr Raspovic utilises a range of methodologies in her research, more recently focusing on mixed methods approaches, specifically latent profile (cluster) analyses combined with semi-structured interviewing / thematic analysis, and pure qualitative approaches. She also works as a psychologist in clinical practice.
She has published widely, focusing in the majority on plantar pressure trials, offloading the foot in diabetes, mechanical alterations in diabetes gait and prevention of diabetes-related foot ulceration. Dr Raspovic was a member of the Prevention Group on the 2019 International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF) guideline review. She currently acts as Chair for the Prevention Chapter of the 2021 Diabetic Foot Australia evidence-based guidelines. Dr Raspovic has a keen interest in the inclusion of people with ‘lived experience’ in the co-design and translation of research into policy and practice. Her primary areas of research currently include; plantar pressure offloading trials, factors influencing the selection of offloading in clinical practice, the psycho-social impacts of diabetes-related foot ulceration and psychological aspects of health behaviour choice.