Keywords

self-care, self-care adoption, shared wound care practices, promote self-wound care

Abstract

Purpose: Managing wounds often requires frequent clinic visits, posing a burden on both patients and the healthcare system. Shared wound care, which encourages patients to manage dressings at home, has emerged as a potential solution. This study investigates factors influencing self-wound care adoption in Singapore.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey involving 328 participants from six primary healthcare centers was conducted. The survey examined demographics, wound characteristics, and perceptions towards shared wound care using a locally validated questionnaire. Parametric tests and logistic regression were used to analyze the data.

Results: Unlike older participants, younger adults valued time saved through self-care and found clinic visits inconvenient. Participants in the younger age group, those in fixed-schedule employment, and students were more likely to opt for the self-wound care program and adopt self-wound care. Strong social support (p = 0.034) and wound location on the head, neck, or face were the most significant factors (p = 0.023) favoring self-care. Interestingly, participants with no formal education were significantly more likely to embrace self-wound care (p = 0.006 to 0.012).

Conclusions: Using individual attributes to select participants for self-wound care adoption may be more effective than relying on educational level. Strong social networks and encouragement from family and community can play a crucial role in promoting self-care practices. However, the generalizability of the findings may be limited, as the study was conducted solely within a Singaporean primary healthcare setting. All the same, while wound care practices may vary across countries, the foundational concepts of wound care are universal in the world. Insights about self-wound care can therefore be valuable and informative on a global scale, not just within Singapore.

Recommended Citation

Goh LJ, Zhu X. Factors influencing self-wound care adoption in Singaporean communities: a cross-sectional survey. J Patient Cent Res Rev. 2024;11:204-14. doi: 10.17294/2330-0698.2084

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