Health promotion in leg ulcer management in the community

This article acknowledges the substantial progress that has been made in leg ulcer management in recent years. However, there needs to be greater emphasis on health promotion, quality of life, general patient well being and promoting health within illness. Incorporating health promotion activities within venous leg ulcer management strategies may serve to empower patients to participate more fully in their care. Nurses' awareness needs to be raised to ensure that the assessment process is used as a tool to promote holistic care and not merely as a checklist to provide baseline information on the patient's health status. A series of factors highlighted during assessment are explored to demonstrate the potential for health promotion.