de Almeida SA, Salomé GM, Dutra RA, Ferreira LM, et al.
Journal of tissue viability. Date of publication 2014 Aug 1;volume 23(3):109-14.
1. J Tissue Viability. 2014 Aug;23(3):109-14. doi: 10.1016/j.jtv.2014.04.005. Epub
2014 May 15.
Feelings of powerlessness in individuals with either venous or diabetic foot
ulcers.
de Almeida SA(1), Salomé GM(2), Dutra RA(3), Ferreira LM(4).
Author information:
(1)Auditing, Private Practice, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
(2)Professional Master's Degree Program in Sciences Applied to Health, Sapucaí
Valley University (UNIVÁS), Pouso Alegre, MG, Brazil. Electronic address:
salomereiki@yahoo.com.br.
(3)Professional Master's Degree Program in Sciences Applied to Health, Sapucaí
Valley University (UNIVÁS), Pouso Alegre, MG, Brazil.
(4)Division of Plastic Surgery, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), São
Paulo, SP, Brazil.
AIM: To assess feelings of powerlessness in patients with either venous or
diabetic foot ulcers.
METHODS: This was an exploratory, descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted
from May 2010 to August 2012. Two hundred adult patients with either venous leg
ulcers (N=100) or diabetic foot ulcers (N=100) were consecutively recruited from
an outpatient wound care clinic of a university hospital in the city of São Paulo
(Brazil). Eligibility criteria included patients with type 1 and 2 diabetes and
foot ulcers, and those with venous leg ulcers and ankle-arm index between 0.8 and
1.0. Patients unable to respond to a questionnaire due to physical or cognitive
deficit were excluded. Two instruments were used for data collection: a
questionnaire assessing sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, and the
Powerlessness Assessment Tool (PAT) for adult patients.
RESULTS: Most patients were women, aged 60-70 years, and smokers. Fifty-seven
patients (57%) with diabetes had had foot ulcers for 3-6 years and 55 (55%)
patients had had venous ulcers for 7-10 years. Wound odor and exudate were
present in most ulcers. The total PAT score was significantly higher (P=0.002)
for patients with foot ulcers (mean, 57.10) than for patients with venous ulcers
(mean, 55.12). The highest mean scores for patients with venous and diabetic foot
ulcers were 58.09 and 58.10, respectively, on the "self-perception of
decision-making capacity" domain.
CONCLUSION: Patients with venous and diabetic foot ulcers had very strong
feelings of powerlessness, but these feelings were significantly stronger in
those with foot ulcerations.
Copyright © 2014 Tissue Viability Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights
reserved.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtv.2014.04.005
PMID: 24882082 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
