Prevalence and types of wounds among children receiving care in the home.
The purpose of this study was to determine the number of children with wounds receiving home care, determine the types of wounds among these children, and identify wound care products used in the treatment of children. This study was a multi-site, descriptive, cross-sectional, collaborative, study involving 13 home healthcare agencies and a university. Nurses (n = 281) were systematically selected to collect data for patients receiving home care visits during a 1-week period. The nurses recorded data on 77 children who ranged in age from less than 1 year to 18 years (mean = 3.1 years, SD = 4.72). The children included 47 males and 30 females, most of whom were African-American (n = 59). Among the 77 children, 16.9% had wounds. Children with wounds were significantly older and had more reasons for the home healthcare visit than children without wounds. The presence of a wound was not significantly related to the length of the visit, gender, or race. The most common wound was a surgical incision. The wound care treatments used most were tap water and gauze. In conclusion, wound care is frequently part of the care for a child in the home. Therefore, nurses need to be aware of wound assessment and wound care protocols that match a child's growth and development and family needs.
Pieper
B
B
Wayne State University, College of Nursing, Detroit, Mich. 48202, USA.
Templin
T
T
Dobal
M
M
Jacox
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003152:Community Health Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan / Q000453:epidemiology; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D015995:Prevalence; D017592:Skin Care / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000451:nursing; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000451:nursing*