Chapter 4. Wound Care
4.10 Summary
Wound healing is a complex process. To ensure optimal wound healing, it is essential to identify and control underlying issues that may prevent a wound from healing. Controlling blood sugar levels, limiting smoking, and observing proper nutrition all have a significant impact on the healing process. It is important to educate patients on these modifiable risk factors to promote wound healing. Understanding the process of wound healing, the use of a comprehensive assessment, and the appropriate selection of wound care products can maximize the wound healing process.
Key Takeaways
- Wound care requires a complete assessment prior to initiating wound treatment. Always compare assessments with previous findings to assess whether wound is healing and if wound treatment is effective.
- Treat the patient (modifiable external and internal factors) and the wound to optimize the healing process.
- Select the appropriate wound treatment based on the wound characteristics, type of wound.
- Understand the differences between types of wounds and causes, and follow procedures for best practice in the acute and clinical setting.
Suggested Online Resources
- Canadian Association of Wound Care (CAWC): Education. This website offers an education section for health care professionals using various methods to provide flexible, interprofessional education that supports the learning needs and professional career growth in the areas of skin health, wound prevention, and management.
- Connecting Learners with Knowledge (CLWK). This website started as a pilot project in 2010 and was created by nurses to explore innovative ways to meet their education needs. Membership grew considerably, and it soon became a permanent, living resource. In February 2014 it merged with QExchange.ca, which was home to communities for British Columbia health care providers. CLWK is now a growing group of communities that support health care providers as they network and improve care.
- Connecting Learners with Knowledge (CLWK): Skin & wound care. These interactive e-learning modules cover skin and wound care and each take about 25 to 30 minutes to complete.
- Provincial Infection Control Network of British Columbia (PICNET). This is the website for PICNET, a program of the Provincial Health Services Authority. Its mission is to reduce health care-associated infections by improving infection prevention control practices.
- Vancouver Coastal Health: How wounds heal. This 30-minute video is designed for health care professionals who wish to improve their understanding of wound and skin care. Information includes the definition of a wound, the three classifications of wound healing or closure, the trajectory of wound healing, and reasons for delayed wound healing.
- Vancouver Coastal Health: Wound assessment. This 30-minute video is designed for health care professionals who wish to improve their understanding of wound and skin care. Information includes basic wound etiology, wound location, and wound assessment parameters.
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