Nurses' knowledge of the healing process in venous leg ulceration

This article presents a subset of a pilot study into nurses' knowledge and reported practice of the assessment of patients with venous leg ulcers. Nurses' knowledge of the physiology of wound healing was examined. The sample was drawn from RGNs working in the outpatient departments of two Dublin teaching hospitals. The purpose of the study was to describe knowledge deficits in order to suggest ways of addressing them. Data were collected during a structured interview of 18 subjects. Owing to a number of limitations, interpretation of findings was limited, but the results indicate that the subjects have difficulty in applying the knowledge of the physiology of wound healing to practice. Furthermore, good/poor blood supply and mobility/immobility were not considered by the participants as significant factors in the delay or enhancement of healing. This suggests that low priority is given to compression bandaging, exercise and rest to assist venous return and thus enhance healing.