Page 250 - Psychology of Wounds and Wound Care in Clinical Practice ( PDFDrive )

Quality of Life and Well-Being 225

Acute Pain
& Stress
Acute Pain
& Stress
Dressing
Chronic Stress Acute Pain & Stress Dressing
Change
Acute Pain
Change
& Stress
Dressing
Dressing Change
Change

Time
Figure 9.1 A potential relationship between acute pain and stress
occurring at dressing change and increased chronic stress levels

impact- the “minor hassle” or relatively low levels of pain
experienced at any one dressing change have a significant
impact over time (see Fig. 9.1 ).
Practitioners have to appreciate this cumulative impact
and minimise stress and pain at all wound changes. This may
be related to dressing choice, relaxed and calm environments,
effective communication with the patient, provision of appro-
priate support, or demonstrated psychological or physical
therapies (see Table 9.1 ).

Quality of Life and Well-Being

Although there have been a wealth of studies exploring the
quality of life (QoL) of patients with wounds, many tend to
focus on ‘health-related quality of life’ (HRQoL) or ‘health
status’. Such measures are useful as outcome measures of
treatment, yet they do not always tell us about important
psychological factors and the impact of wounds on well-
being; consequently, these issues are often overlooked (Upton
et al. 2013a , b ). Throughout this book we have attempted to
address these psychological factors and put well-being at the
centre of the discussions (see Fig. 9.2 ).