Health-related Quality of Life and Wound Care Practices Among Patients With Chronic Wounds in a Southwestern Nigerian Community

Abstract

Introduction: Chronic wounds (CWs) are a common problem around the world. Although known to affect quality of life, patients' perception may vary among cultures.

Objective: The purpose of this article is to determine the effects of CWs on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and identify wound care practices among a select population in southwestern Nigeria.

Materials and methods: This is a descriptive study of 60 patients with CWs receiving outpatient care. Adult patients > 18 years of age with a wound duration > 3 months were chosen by convenience nonprobability sampling at the point of care. A pretested, semistructured, interviewer-administered questionnaire and a guided interview was provided to each patient to complete; collected data were coded to ensure confidentiality and input into computer software for statistical analysis.

Results: The average respondent age was 48.3 years (range, 18-80 years). Male to female ratio was 1:1.2, with 71.7% married, 96.7% of the Yoruba ethnic group, and 40% traders by occupation. The average wound duration was 23.2 months (range, 3-240 months). Trauma was the most common etiology of CWs followed by infection. There was no relationship between wound duration and patients' gender. Most patients accessed care from more than 1 source simultaneously. The presence of CWs adversely affected the quality of life (R = -.288; P = .025). Many patients had varying degrees of abnormality in their mental health.

Conclusions: Chronic wounds are associated with poorer HRQoL, and simultaneous reception of wound care from multiple sources was common. These findings also suggest a need to pay increased attention to psychological aspects of patients with CWs.