Nicoletta Frescos, William McGuiness: Healthcare practitioners’ views on the assessment and management of pain in chronic lower limb wounds 
DOI: 10.35279/jowm202110.02

First published 4 October 2021

This article should be referenced as: Fresco N, McGuiness W: Healthcare practitioners’ views on the assessment and management of pain in chronic lower limb wounds, Journal of Wound Management, 2021

ABSTRACT
Wound-related pain in people with chronic lower limb wounds is often underestimated and undertreated by clinicians. This paper provides an overview of the findings from a mixed methods study exploring the perceptions and experiences of healthcare practitioners (HCP) on the assessment and management of wound-related pain, in an effort to provide insights into the above deficit.
Aim
The aim of this study was to explore whether assessments of wound pain are undertaken and what the barriers are to wound pain anagement, from the perspectives of HCP.
Method
This study encompassed two research activities (an HCP survey and focus groups). An explanatory, sequential mixed method design combining data from the survey and the focus groups was used for the study.
Results
At present, there is no consistent method for the assessment and management of wound-related pain. The key barriers to effective management of pain identified here are pain language, the attitudes and beliefs of HCP in relation to pain assessment and a lack of knowledge and skills in evidence-based practice in wound-related pain.
Conclusion
There is a need for a universal clinical multidimensional wound pain assessment tool that incorporates clinical guidelines and prescriptive pathways for managing wound-related pain.

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