P233 - NUTRITION CARE IS UNDER SERVED IN WOUND CARE CLINICAL PRACTICE

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P233

NUTRITION CARE IS UNDER SERVED IN WOUND CARE CLINICAL PRACTICE

B. Weise1,*, M. Lichota2, P. Fauque3, G. Gethin4,5,6

1Medical Scientific Affairs, B. Braun Avitum AG, Melsungen, Germany, 2Appetite for Life, Krakow, Poland, 3Nutritionist, Private Practice, Cannes, France, 4School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland, 5HES-SO University of Applied Science and Arts, Geneva School of Health Science, Geneva, Switzerland, 6Alliance for Research and Innovation in Wounds, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland

 

Rationale: Up to 2% of the population in developed countries will experience a chronic wound during their lifetime [1]. Persons with chronic wounds suffer from comorbidities like cardiovascular disease, obesity or diabetes leading to limited or even impaired wound healing [1].  Nutrition plays a vital role in the wound healing process but current practice in screening and monitoring is unknown.

Methods: We conducted a survey among nurses with a special interest in wound care to evaluate the role of holistic care approaches, including nutrition care approaches in ambulatory chronic wound care.

Results: 138 nurses from 23 countries and 5 continents responded with 127/138 (92%) reported to be aware of the role nutrition plays in wound healing. But, only 20/138 (14%) reported to routinely perform nutrition screening and/or weighing their patients at least weekly. Respondents were asked to self-assess their competency in nutrition care on a scale of 0-10. 14% (n=20) ranked themselves as having low level of competency (score 1-4); 55% (n=71) average level (score 5-7) and 25% (n=35) advanced level (score 8-10). The demand for further education in nutrition care was over 92% across all groups.

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Conclusion: The survey revealed that despite the high grade of awareness about the integral role of nutrition in wound care, a systematic nutrition care approach in chronic wound patients is underrepresented. The reasons for this gap are unknown but should be identified in order to develop nutrition care strategies for this vulnerable population.

References: Sen CK, Gordillo GM, Roy S, Kirsner R, Lambert L, Hunt TK, Gottrup F, Gurtner GC, Longaker MT. Human skin wounds: a major and snowballing threat to public health and the economy. Wound Repair Regen. 2009 Nov-Dec;17(6):763-71. doi: 10.1111/j.1524-475X.2009.00543.x. PMID: 19903300; PMCID: PMC2810192

Disclosure of Interest: None declared