Overcoming Challenges in Wound Management: A Toolbox Approach for Primary Care

Introduction: Primary care providers and other clinical staff commonly manage wounds in the outpatient setting. They often face time constraints and lack formal education in wound care, particularly when dealing with patients with multiple comorbidities. Poorly managed wounds and associated comorbidities have a wide-reaching impact on patient outcomes and quality of life (QoL). Fostering the clinical expertise of team members can help standardize wound services, and most interventions improve wound management self-efficacy in primary care settings. Repetitive expert coaching to teach wound management shows improved provider confidence, time to healing, and patient QoL. Methods: An evidence-based wound management toolbox was designed and implemented with associated education through four 15-minute repetitive coaching sessions to evaluate the self-efficacy of project participants at a local primary care clinic primarily serving persons at risk or experiencing homelessness. The toolbox included wound management assessment and documentation, evidence-based algorithms, patient education, supply information, and referral pathways. A pre-intervention and post-intervention survey was used to evaluate the self-efficacy of participants. Findings: Ten clinic personnel participated, comprising six with wound care roles and four with non-wound care roles. The intervention significantly increased self-efficacy scores, from 56.50 to 124.50 out of a possible 180 points, with those in wound care roles experiencing the most notable improvements. The results highlight the value of a comprehensive, toolbox-based approach to wound management in addressing the educational and practical needs of primary care providers and staff.