Page 233 - Psychology of Wounds and Wound Care in Clinical Practice ( PDFDrive )

208 Chapter 8. Family, Friends and Social Support

poorer physical health (Glasdam et al. 2010 ). Similarly, often
in significant cases the carer has to give up work which can
lead to significant financial problems for the whole family.
Although the term “caregiver burden” has been used
extensively and documented in a number of conditions such
as HIV/AIDs, cancer, heart disease and dementia (e.g. Munro
and Edwards 2010 ; Woods 1999 ; Aoun et al. 2005 ) little has
been written about care-giving for those with a chronic
wound. As Ousey et al. ( 2013 ) write there “is little investiga-
tion into the impact of an acute wound on the possible psy-
chological impact this may have on patients’ and carers’
quality of life” (p. 3). The authors then went on to suggest
that there was a need for both investigations and recommen-
dations into how best to support both patients and carers:
There needs to be clear guidelines developed on how health and
social care practitioners can meet the needs of these patients
and their caregivers. Participation and involvement of patients
and caregivers in the development of these guidelines are essen-
tial to ensure that the patient and their caregivers are at the
centre of care. (p. 6)
Given the fundamental role that unpaid carers play in the
support of individuals with chronic conditions and the overall
value to the country that this is estimated to bring it is surpris-
ing that little research exploring carer burden with those with
a chronic wound has been reported. This is important for a
number of reasons. Firstly, the heath of all should be a concern
for the individual health care professional. There are many
anecdotal reports of the carer suffering health difficulties
themselves (including premature death) and this is something
that all should try and avoid. Secondly, of course, individual
carers provide valuable care and support and without them
the psychological and physical health of the individual wound
sufferer may deteriorate. Finally, of course, without this sup-
port more health care resources would be required which
would lead to greater economic burden for all. A number of
theoretically driven psychological support programmes may
prove beneficial. For example, the development of coping
strategies, social support networks or resilience training have
all been shown to be of benefit for carers (e.g. McDonald and
Hayes 2001 ; Li et al. 2012 ).