Assisting patients to comply with leg ulcer treatments

A great deal of work has been done in recent years to highlight and improve the leg ulcer problem in the UK. Leg ulcer clinic projects have resulted in effective treatments (Moffat, 1990), guidelines to assist in the appropriate management of leg ulcers (Nelson, 1996) and leg ulcer clinics that aim to prevent recurrence (Ruane-Morris et al, 1995). However, even with the best possible treatment strategies based on reliable research evidence, many patients do not comply with the recommended treatment and therefore have persistent non-healing or recurrent ulceration (Moffat and Franks, 1995). Patient education is vastly important in this area and can be supported by education leaflets to facilitate learning. Educational theories can also be drawn on to ensure that patient education is based on sound evidence.