The impact of minor acute wounds on quality of life.
A study was undertaken to explore the experiences of patients with minor acute wounds following discharge from either inpatient or day care. The sample comprised patients attending the plastic surgery dressing clinic of a district general hospital. Patients whose wounds were considered to be chronic were not included. A conceptual framework was developed from the literature, postulating that the patient is 'eclipsed' by the wound and enters the sick role before healing and recovery take place. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data for a mainly quantitative analysis, with some open questions to indicate avenues for further study. Unfortunately, the response rate was low, and insufficient data were obtained for effective analysis. However, trends were identified which indicated that these wounds had a significant impact on patients and their families, and recommendations were made for future studies. The survey would need to be repeated on a larger, more representative sample and include semi-structured interviews to produce generalizable results.
O'Flynn
L
L
East Berkshire Community Health NHS Trust, UK.
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012867:Skin / Q000293:injuries*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014947:Wounds and Injuries