Patient Participation in Acute Surgical Wound Care: A Descriptive Qualitative Study.
Kita Liosatos, Georgia Tobiano, Brigid M Gillespie
PMID 40290085WHAT IT FOUND
Patients recovering from surgery described wound care as harder than expected, especially when pain, drains, conflicting advice or dismissive staff overwhelmed them.
Clear, consistent teaching and family support helped them regain confidence and manage wounds at home.
Key findings
01Patients said wound care was out of the question until pain was adequately addressed.
02Inconsistent wound-care instructions from healthcare staff left several participants confused, passive and noncompliant.
03After discharge, time, effort and family support made wound self-care more manageable for participants.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 17 of 26 consented patients were interviewed; 34.6% attrition means experiences of non-respondents are missing. The study was done in one Australian hospital with mostly English-speaking, urban participants of similar cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, so findings may not transfer to rural, remote or culturally diverse settings. Wound-care activities were self-reported, so behaviours participants did not consider significant may be missing. Palliative, bariatric, pregnant or obstetric, paediatric, neonatal, residential aged care, respite, other care facility and patients needing hired home support were excluded.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was unfunded.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as evidence that patient participation prevents infection or improves healing; this qualitative study describes 17 patients' experiences and did not test wound-care outcomes.