The outcomes and experience of people receiving community-based nurse-led wound care: A systematic review

Aims and objectives To review the literature related to the outcomes and experience of people receiving nurse-led care for chronic wounds in the community. Background Chronic wounds lead to a poor quality of life and are an economic burden to the Australian healthcare system. A lack of awareness into the significance of chronic wounds leads to limited resources being available to facilitate the provision of evidence-based care. The majority of chronic wounds are managed by nurses in the community, and a better understanding into current models of care is required to inform future practice. Design A systematic quantitative literature review. Methods A systematic search was conducted in four electronic databases, and the inclusion criteria were as follows: English language, peer-reviewed, published from 2009-2019 and primary research. The data were compiled into an Excel database for reporting as per the Pickering and Byrne (Higher Education Research & Development, 33, 534.) method of systematic quantitative literature review. This review used the PRISMA checklist. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was used for quality appraisal. Results Twelve studies were included in the review. Home nursing care, social community care and nursing within a wound clinic were identified as three types of nurse-led care in the literature. The findings demonstrate that nurse-led care was cost-effective, reported high levels of client satisfaction and contributed to improved wound healing and reduced levels of pain. Conclusions Nurse-led care is a positive experience for people with chronic wounds and leads to better outcomes. The findings suggested a need for further client education and specialised training for healthcare practitioners managing chronic wounds. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE This review demonstrates that nurse-led care for people with chronic wounds in the community is cost-effective and improves client outcomes. Raising awareness into the significance of chronic wounds aims to promote the resources required to facilitate evidence-based care.