The effect of nursing education on dressing usage and wear time in the home care setting

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: A vast amount of wound care occurs in the community, yet varying degrees of knowledge and education means wound dressing choice and usage is not always being optimised.
Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effects of different forms of education alongside the introduction of a wound dressing on nurses’ frequency of dressing changes in the home care setting.
Methods: A comparisoned design of three approaches to explore the impact of wound care education was undertaken across three district nursing teams. Semi-structured interviews with 10 health care professionals explore the impact of education on nurses' clinical practice, decision making and confidence.
Results: Reductions in overall wound dressing change frequency were observed in the group receiving the education package with training, compared to the control group. Dressing-specific education enabled staff to trust and feel confident about using the dressings, whilst the wound care education enabled participants to apply new knowledge to their clinical practice.
Discussion: This study highlights the importance of how education can provide valuable solutions to reducing unnecessary dressing changes, reducing nursing visits and dressing use, and supporting clinicians to feel more confident in their practice. Product-specific education and general wound care education combined can help to build confidence and support positive changes in practice.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)18-27
Number of pages10
JournalWounds UK
Volume19
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 7 Mar 2023

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