Updated on Aug 22, 2019
Does this sound familiar?
Most of us have been in at least one of the situations below:
- Not enough time during the visit to properly teach your patients how to change their dressings at home
- Patient/ caregiver does not understand or remember verbal instructions received during the visit
- Patient education handouts at hand are wordy, not applicable or not available in the patient's preferred language
Situations like these are commonly seen in wound care services and may lead to poor adherence to the care plan and delays in wound healing.
What tools can be used to enhance patient education in wound care?
The Dressing Change Brochure Editor is a tool within WoundReference that allows clinicians to instantly generate custom brochures with unique dressing regimens for each patient, with step-by-step pictures and easy-to-understand instructions. In addition, it includes information on general wound care and a dressing change schedule. The Dressing Change Brochure Editor is available in Premium and Free Basic plans.
For more tools and methods to enhance patient education and self-care in wound care, see the topic "Patient Education in Wound Care and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy"
How was the Dressing Change Brochure Editor created?
The idea that originated the Dressing Change Brochure Editor was conceived by Erin Tharalson, DNP, RN, ANP-BC, CWS. As a director of a nonprofit wound clinic at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, in Arizona, Dr. Tharalson saw the need for patient education materials with pictures and instructions that are easy to understand by all patients, regardless of their literacy level. Dr. Tharalson piloted a study utilizing a paper-based version of the Dressing Change Brochure Editor that used paper stickers instead of digital pictures to compose the custom brochure. The intervention successfully resulted in increased patient knowledge and self-care.[1][2]
Given encouraging results and to make the tool accessible to all clinicians worldwide, the paper-based version was used as a blueprint for the Dressing Change Brochure Editor - an optimized, digital version of the initial paper-based tool. The Dressing Change Brochure Editor is a highly versatile tool that allows clinicians to quickly compose their own pictorial, step-by-step instructions and print multiple customized handouts at the point-of-care.
What have patients been thinking about the customized dressing change brochures?
Several wound care programs have been using the Dressing Change Brochure Editor, and hundreds of patients have received their own customized dressing change brochure. Patients and caregivers have been finding the brochure very helpful in understanding how to care for their wounds at home. Clinicians have been finding that the brochures support their teaching and help increase adherence to care plan.
"The brochure is great; anyone can understand" D.H., Patient with a chronic wound
"The brochure is really good and taught me new information" M.V., Patient with a chronic wound
How can I access the Dressing Change Brochure Editor?
To start using this time-saving tool, log in or create your Free Basic Account now. Because we are committed to supporting healthcare professionals in their mission to enhance patient outcomes, use of this tool is provided for free to all clinicians worldwide.
References
- Tharalson, E et al. An Innovative Literacy-supportive Education Pilot for Wound Self-care Wound Management and Prevention. 2019
- Tharalson, E & Root, L. et al. An innovative literacy-supportive education pilot for wound self-care. 2018
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