Nurses' Challenges in Wound Care Management-A Qualitative Study

Introduction: Decision-making process of healthcare professionals in an acute care setting is inevitable that necessitates a balancing paradigm of clinical knowledge with the practices of evidence-based implementation. Nurses face contextual challenges in managing the issues of decisionmaking intervening domains of cognition, skills, and values. Aim: This study was implemented to determine the decisionmaking processes used by registered nurses in wound care management in acute care settings. Materials and Methods: A qualitative method was adopted using a thematic analysis approach. Fifteen nurses involved in the management of wound care unit were purposefully included in the interview from 23rd May to 15th July 2020. The semi-structured face-to-face interview was conducted, and the collected data was analysed through inductive thematic analysis. Results: Fifteen nurses working at a tertiary hospital with a mean age of 34.26 +/- 3.31 years experience ranging from 3 to 15 years were included in this study. The transcribed interviews were categorised under five themes: Foundation Knowledge and Education; Randomness in seeking practice education; Expert opinion and Evidence-based practice; Multidisciplinary Coordination and Streamlining; and Patient engagement in care. Conclusion: Nurses demonstrated that wound care management requires the practice of decision-making that requires multidisciplinary and holistic approaches tempered with knowledge about the patient and the expertise of others.