Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

53773 Enhancing Dermatology Care: Bridging Wound Care Knowledge

2024; Elsevier BV; Volume: 91; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.jaad.2024.07.805

1097-6787

Bahar Momin, Anaya Shah, Jiwon Park, Atreyu Balasundaram, Pavela Bambekova, John Browning,

Diabetic Foot Ulcer Assessment and Management

Travis Park Dermatology Clinic is a student-run free clinic serving uninsured patients primarily from Bexar County where the postsecondary education rate is below the national average. Dermatological procedures performed in clinic often result in superficial wounds, highlighting the need for proper wound care education. This study, rooted in American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) guidelines, aimed to evaluate wound care knowledge of patients receiving care at our clinic. Surveys were administered to patients aged 18 and older with a total of 27 responses. The survey featured five multiple-choice questions exploring various aspects of wound care, alongside a 5-point Likert scale rating question gauging participants' confidence in their wound care knowledge. A one-tailed T-test was used to analyze the multiple choice questions, assuming that three out of four correct answers indicated sufficient knowledge. While the average confidence rating was 4.33 out of 5 on the Likert scale, deeper analysis revealed that only 7.40% (n=2) adhered to current AAD guidelines. Approximately 51.85% (n=14) correctly identified all characteristics of an infected wound, and 66.70% (n=18) recognized the use of mild soap and water for cleaning wounds. However, only 14.81% (n=4) knew that wounds should be kept moist. When assessing multiple-choice questions, 37.03% (n=10) demonstrated sufficient wound care knowledge (p<0.0005). Our study highlights the importance of patient wound care education. The clinic now provides patients with AAD guideline-based wound care recommendation sheets post-procedure in hopes to enhance wound healing and reduce complications.