A forever healing: The lived experience of venous ulcer disease

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1062-0303(97)90004-2Get rights and content

Abstract

A phenomenological study was conducted to determine the lived experience of healing a venous ulcer for patients in an ambulatory surgical clinic. In addition to seven tape-recorded, transcribed interviews, weekly participant observations were made for 1 year. Interviews and field notes were transcribed and analyzed for themes by using van Manen's approach. Four major themes emerged from the analysis: (1) “A forever healing process” refers to the extended time over which healing occurs. (2) “Limits and accommodations” refers to the patterns of limitation related to mobility and activity restrictions due to pain and disfigurement. (3) “Powerlessness” describes the resignation about the inevitability of wound recurrence. (4) “Who cares?” refers to variation among the patients in assuming responsibly for managing their ulcer. Understanding the lived experience of venous leg ulcer disease allows care providers to provide empathic care. Patients can be encouraged to be active members of the treatment team and to assume responsibility for care and lifestyle choices.

References (12)

  • TJ Phillips et al.

    Leg ulcers

    J Am Acad Dermatol

    (1991)
  • E Anderson et al.

    Leg and foot ulcer prevalence and investigation of the peripheral arterial and venous circulation in a randomized elderly population

    Acta Dermatol Venereol

    (1993)
  • SR Baker et al.

    Epidemiology of chronic venous ulcers

    Br J Surg

    (1991)
  • J Troyer-Caudle

    The wound clinic connection: a multidisciplinary team approach to the treatment of lower extremity ulcers

    Ostomy/Wound Man

    (1992)
  • R Flett et al.

    Psychosocial aspects of chronic lower leg ulceration in the elderly

    West J Nurse Res

    (1994)
  • M van Manen

    Researching lived experience: human science for an action sensitive pedagogy

    (1990)
There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (102)

  • Barriers and enablers to physical activity in people with venous leg ulcers: A systematic review of qualitative studies

    2022, International Journal of Nursing Studies
    Citation Excerpt :

    Stevens, 2006; Walshe, 1995; Wissing et al., 1997). Four studies failed to provide a proof of ethical approval (Bentley, 2006; Chase et al., 1997; Gates, 2005; Stevens, 2006). The eligible studies were published between 1995 and 2019.

  • Regenerative effect of epiregulin-loaded hydrogel

    2018, Wound Medicine
    Citation Excerpt :

    Defective healing is generally associated with chronic wounds. Chronic wounds are, by definition, hard to heal wounds, taking substantial time to heal and being very often associated to major symptoms, deeply affecting patient’s quality of life [2,7,9–11]. In normal conditions, skin wound healing involves soluble mediators as well as blood cells, extracellular matrix (ECM) components and parenchymal cells, resulting in specific interactions among them which are mediated by growth factors [2,4,7,8].

  • Placing the patient at the centre of chronic wound care: A qualitative evidence synthesis

    2017, Journal of Tissue Viability
    Citation Excerpt :

    However, others were actively involved in decision making and self management, becoming an expert in wound care and working in partnership with healthcare professionals, even alerting them to the need for prophylactic treatment of infection and managing their own pain treatments [18,21,25,29,31,33,35,36]. Chronic wound patients value a strong therapeutic and personal relationship with a consistent professional who is persistent with treating their wounds, even when wound healing is slow [19–21,24,25,28–30,33–35]. A trusting, collaborative, and friendly relationship between patient and healthcare professional, in which the patient feels that they have some control over treatment, fostered hope for the future and a feeling of increased independence.

View all citing articles on Scopus

Supported by a Research Expense Grant from the Office of Research Administration, Boston College.

a

Susan K. Chase is an assistant professor of Adult Health at the Boston College School of Nursing, in Chestnut Hill.

b

Mary Melloni is a unit nurse leader and Amanda Savage a staff nurse at the Ambulatory Surgical Clinic of Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston.

View full text