Page 244 - Psychology of Wounds and Wound Care in Clinical Practice ( PDFDrive )

Introduction 219

alone. Hence, these have been included: costs of dressing mate-
rials, average hospitalisation rates, average time to healing, and
complication rates have all been considered. However, an
aspect that is often overlooked is the cost of the psychological
consequences of the wounds: both to the patient and the health
service (see Box 9.1). The psychological consequences of living
with a chronic wound can include many negative emotions,
such as stress, anxiety, concern about physical symptoms, lack
of self-worth and feelings of despair. These can vary in severity,
from minor negative emotions to suicidal thoughts, depending
on each individual case (Upton and South 2011 ; Upton et al.
2012a , b , c ). Upton and Hender ( 2012 ) explored the economic
costs of the additional psychosocial problems with wound care
and suggested that in the UK these additional cost of treating
chronic wound patients for mood disorder could be as much as
£85.5 million per annum as a lower estimate.
At the outset of this book we highlighted the growing
research interest in psychological issues in health care and
wound care in particular. It would appear that this interest can
have a financial reality as well. For many years, health care
professionals may have overlooked some of the important
psychosocial aspects of an individual’s care but this situation
is changing and we hope that this book has gone someway to
strengthening the time and energy afforded these variables. In
this way not only the economic factors can be addressed but
also, more importantly, the needs of the patient.
When constantly dealing with many wound patients in a
time and resourced pressed environment, it may be difficult
for practitioners to fully appreciate the impact a chronic
wound can have upon an individuals’ life. The focus can often
be directed towards treating the wound rather than the asso-
ciated sequelea (Briggs and Flemming 2007 ). We hope that
this book has highlighted how some of the research evidence
may be of particular relevance to the health care professional
in their day-to-day practice.
Studies have also shown that patients living with long-term
wounds often have poor psychological wellbeing and a
reduced quality of life as a consequence of the impact of the
wound and wound care. The impact on the patient and their
caregiver’s social life can be extensive and all encompassing.