Page 253 - Psychology of Wounds and Wound Care in Clinical Practice ( PDFDrive )

228 Chapter 9. Conclusion

Of course with most chronic conditions, prevention is bet-
ter than cure. It is better to prevent pressure ulcers than to
deal with them, it is better to prevent DFU rather than deal
with the psychological and physical consequences, it is better
to prevent burns rather than deal with them. A fundamental
issue underlying any prevention message is one of education
(Upton and Thirlaway 2013 ). For example, for people at risk
from DFU education is recommended, combined with other
preventive measures (International Working Group on the
Diabetic Foot 2007 ). However, some evidence suggests that a
group based educational session may not be successful for re-
ulceration prevention although there is some evidence that it
can prevent ulcers developing in the first place (Annersten
Gershater et al. 2011 ). Again, prevention is better than cure.
It may be that it requires more than simple education mes-
sages and that a multi-modal psycho-educational programme
may have more of an impact (e.g. Vedhara et al. 2012 ).
Furthermore, it is not just the patient that may benefit
from education. Educating health care professionals involved
in the patient’s daily life and also educating the patient’s next
of kin may constitute a more effective intervention and this
can be applied across many wound types. Hence, if compres-
sion bandages were applied consistently and correctly then
concordance might improve as would wound healing. If fam-
ily members and spouses were educated then the negative
psychological consequences of treatment might be reduced
and concordance improved. Hence, psycho-education (such
as that described in Chap. 5 ) might prove beneficial in recov-

ery by improving both the concordance to the different treat-
ment types available and reducing any psychological distress
associated with the condition and treatment.

Different Treatments and Psychological
Outcomes

Irrespective of the form of treatment, Fletcher ( 2008 ) pres-
ents a ‘best practice statement care pathway’ suggesting
wounds should be cared for in a standardised way, with clear