The views of district nurses on their level of knowledge about the treatment of leg and foot ulcers.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to survey the views of a sample of district nurses on their own level of knowledge about the treatment of leg and foot ulcers and what they considered to be the most important issues in wound treatment.

DESIGN: A descriptive design was used.

SETTING AND SUBJECTS: The subjects were all the nurses who treated leg and foot ulcers in the community health care service in Oslo, Norway, during autumn 1999. The subjects were selected after consultation with senior nurses.

INSTRUMENTS: A structured questionnaire with blank spaces for in-depth comments was used.

METHODS: The head of the nursing service in all 25 urban districts received a letter about the study with a questionnaire that they passed on to the nurses treating ulcers. Out of 173 eligible nurses, 102 (59%) filled in the questionnaires. Descriptive and interpretative analyses were then made.

RESULTS: Most of the participating nurses (60%) believed that their knowledge of wound treatment was insufficient. A high degree of uncertainty related to wound treatment situations was also found. The uncertainty included wound treatment, wound assessment, wound healing products, and wound causes. The main sources of the nurses' knowledge were their own nursing practice and colleagues. Twenty different factors of importance in wound treatment were reported. The most frequently mentioned factors were: wound healing, continuity in the treatment process, alleviation of pain, hygiene, compression therapy, and diagnosis. The lowest scores were awarded to documentation and economic factors.

CONCLUSIONS: The nurses perceived their knowledge of leg and foot ulcer treatment to be insufficient. Their own nursing practice and colleagues were their main sources of knowledge.