Nursing outcomes in wound care management: A mixed method study.
Marzia Lommi, Barbara Raffaele, Maria Ymelda Tolentino Diaz and 3 others
PMID 36478413WHAT IT FOUND
Patients with chronic ulcers in community clinics had less severe wounds and better physical and mental quality of life over six months.
Nutrition scores did not change. The study followed one group, so improvement cannot be credited to nursing care alone.
Key findings
01Wound severity scores fell from 32.93 at T0 to 17.89 at T3, and the improvement was statistically significant across measurement times.
02Physical quality of life scores rose from 42.12 to 46.02 and mental scores from 49.56 to 52.93, with significant differences between some time points.
03Interviews produced themes of self-care, care from healthcare providers, and quality of life.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was shortened from nine months to six months because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so longer-term outcomes were not analysed. It followed one group of patients over time, so changes cannot be attributed to the nursing care alone. The sample was mostly male and had many comorbidities, so results may not apply to women or people with fewer health problems. Only patients who were cognitively intact and without serious or moderate depression were included, so it says nothing about people with those conditions. The qualitative phase interviewed 14 of the 44 patients, all from the same convenience sample, so it may not represent all patients with chronic ulcers.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Centre of Excellence for Nursing Scholarship and the Nursing Regulatory Board of Rome. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the wound severity improvement as proof that nurse-delivered education caused healing. It was a single-group longitudinal follow-up, and nutritional status did not change.