Health-related Quality of Life and Wound Care Practices Among Patients With Chronic Wounds in a Southwestern Nigerian Community.

INTRODUCTION

Chronic wounds (CWs) are a common problem around the world. Although known to affect quality of life, patients' perception may vary among cultures.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this article is to determine the effects of CWs on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and identify wound care practices among a select population in southwestern Nigeria.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This is a descriptive study of 60 patients with CWs receiving outpatient care. Adult patients > 18 years of age with a wound duration > 3 months were chosen by convenience nonprobability sampling at the point of care. A pretested, semistructured, interviewer-administered questionnaire and a guided interview was provided to each patient to complete; collected data were coded to ensure confidentiality and input into computer software for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

The average respondent age was 48.3 years (range, 18-80 years). Male to female ratio was 1:1.2, with 71.7% married, 96.7% of the Yoruba ethnic group, and 40% traders by occupation. The average wound duration was 23.2 months (range, 3-240 months). Trauma was the most common etiology of CWs followed by infection. There was no relationship between wound duration and patients' gender. Most patients accessed care from more than 1 source simultaneously. The presence of CWs adversely affected the quality of life (R = -.288; P = .025). Many patients had varying degrees of abnormality in their mental health.

CONCLUSIONS

Chronic wounds are associated with poorer HRQoL, and simultaneous reception of wound care from multiple sources was common. These findings also suggest a need to pay increased attention to psychological aspects of patients with CWs.