Abstract
Objective: explore qualitative research on the meanings of living with a chronic wound. Method: it is a qualitative meta-synthesis. 13 articles were included, totaling a sample of 248 individuals who self-reported living with a chronic wound. The Critical Appraisal Skills Program instrument was used to evaluate the eligible articles, and to report the qualitative synthesis, the recommendations of Enhancing transparency in reporting the synthesis of qualitative research were followed. The analysis and extraction of information and construction of the synthesis were carried out by two independent reviewers, with the assistance of a third expert reviewer. Results: living with a chronic wound involves initial concerns and the appearance of symptoms, especially marked pain. They report that the increase in pain led to low functional capacity, as well as weakened social relationships and financial conditions. The experiences illustrate the challenges of emotional burden and the implications of illness, which contributed to social isolation. Religiosity and spirituality were the main coping strategies. Conclusion: living with a chronic wound means a condition of pain, limits physical and functional capacity, causes negative feelings and emotions that result in people’s isolation.
Highlights
The chronic wound is a rupture in the integumentary structure with anatomical and physiological changes associated with the prolonged healing process, which can affect individuals of all ages and cause negative impacts on the person’s daily life due to its potential to cause changes in skin integrity, itching, pain, exudate and odor[1,2]
Pain was the most reported by people who experience the existence of a chronic wound, being aggravated by the prolonged course of healing and threat of recurrence of the injury[5].The painful wound ends up influencing daily activities, work and leisure, which contributes to low functional capacity, unsatisfactory sleep, emotional instability, suffering, hopelessness and depression[6,7]
The 13 articles[7,21,22,23,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35] included a total of 248 participants, most of them female (n = 145), aged between 27 and 95 years old and of different ethnicities, who experienced the condition of being affected by venous ulcers[27,29,33], various chronic wounds[7,28], leg ulcers[22,30,31,32,35], pressure injury[21], diabetic foot[34], as well as individuals with lower limb amputation composing the sample of the same study[23]
Summary
The chronic wound is a rupture in the integumentary structure with anatomical and physiological changes associated with the prolonged healing process, which can affect individuals of all ages and cause negative impacts on the person’s daily life due to its potential to cause changes in skin integrity, itching, pain, exudate and odor[1,2] It causes direct changes in lifestyle, professional career and body image, constituting a serious problem for the health system[3,4]. Pain was the most reported by people who experience the existence of a chronic wound, being aggravated by the prolonged course of healing and threat of recurrence of the injury[5].The painful wound ends up influencing daily activities, work and leisure, which contributes to low functional capacity, unsatisfactory sleep, emotional instability, suffering, hopelessness and depression[6,7]. In addition to these feelings, the chronic state leads the person to feel ashamed to show his injured body to others in his social life[5]
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