Úlcera venosa

: a qualidade de vida e a decisão terapêutica

Abstract

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Having a chronic wound such as venous ulcer, results in changes in everyday life, turning a decisive role in the individual's life. The challenge of health care is to provide to these individuals a global and integrated care, where quality of life is the primary outcome. Thus, it becomes essential that nurses are aware of changes that these people experience, to provide individualized care. The objectives of this study are: assess the quality of life of people with venous ulcers, analyze the influence of wound characteristics and type of treatment on quality of life, identify the criteria for treatment decisions and obstacles to therapeutic decision. METHODOLOGY: Non-probabilistic accidental sample of 31 people with venous ulcer being cared in the health centers of the Unidade Local de Saúde do Baixo Alentejo, EPE, Beja. There were also included 95 nurses who provide care at the same locations. For data collection, it was used the Cardiff Wound Impact Scheme and a form to register the characteristics of the wound. For nurses also used a form was used to identify the criteria for their treatment decision. RESULTS: There was a reduction in the quality of life in the domain of wellness. The quality of life is affected by the amount of exudate and pain, and pain increases with the increase in ulcer area. Nurses use multiple criteria in their therapeutic decision and 28,4% consider that their practice does not comply with scientific evidence. CONCLUSION: Venous ulcers change people’s quality of life. There were differences in the number of criteria used in therapeutic decision, which calls for the need of a more standardized practice, however always adapted to the patient. There are still difficulties in implementing nursing interventions based on evidence.

Date of Award	1 Jul 2014
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Fernando Mena Martins (Supervisor) & Manuel Luís Capelas (Co-Supervisor)