oa Wound Healing Southern Africa - Holistic care for patients living with chronic wounds : nursing

Abstract

Introduction

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Chronic wounds refer to wounds that fail to progress through an orderly and timely sequence of repair, where healing has not been realised in a predictable time frame, i.e. when wounds fail to heal within three months, when the wound's size hasn't decreased by30% within four weeks, when the wound is not 30% smaller after one month and will not heal by week 12. A perception exists that chronic wounds are associated with old age, but every chronic injury has the potential to develop into a chronic wound. The prevalence of patients living with chronic wounds globally is high. Approximately 120 patients per 100 000 are aged 45-65 years. With increased age, the prevalence increases to more than 800 patients per 100 000 who are aged 75 years and older.