Optimizing Individual Care Requires Global Efforts

The current pandemic is a vivid reminder that all of humanity is connected and that changes in one part of our global community affect us all. Although not as dangerous to the health and well-being of the world community as COVID-19, concerns about having a stoma or a chronic wound (as well as the challenges of preventing and healing these wounds) are also felt by all members of our global community. This issue of Wound Management & Prevention deals with these issues. 

Citing research from all over the world, researchers in Turkey concluded that little was known about the relationships among body perception, life satisfaction, and attitude toward seeking psychological help in patients who were discharged with a tracheostomy. Therefore, Altinbas et al conducted a study among 60 patients to explore these relationships. That article begins on page 32. 

The prevention of pressure injuries in hospitalized persons with limited mobility as well as plantar pressure in persons with diabetes (which, in turn, increases the risk of developing foot ulcers) are also worldwide concerns. In this issue of the Journal, a nurse researcher from Oslo, Norway, reports the results of a study comparing interface pressure, comfort, and mobility among several older and newer hospital mattresses. The observations made by Bredesen in “Interface Pressures of New and Worn Standard and Viscoelastic Hospital Mattresses: A Comparative Study” (page 26) are an important reminder about the importance of monitoring hospital mattresses during their life cycle and considering a patient’s weight when making decisions about their care. 

Blood flow was the topic of a study conducted by researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign that is also published in this issue. The results of Zhu et al (“Effect of Local Vibrations on Plantar Skin Blood Flow Responses During Weight-bearing Standing in Healthy Volunteers,”  page 7) raise a tantalizing possibility: Sometime in the future we may be able to reduce the risk of foot ulcers using a relatively simple and noninvasive protocol of exposing the area to local vibrations! 

Last but not least among this month’s feature articles is a case study from Guangzhou, China. Zhang et al (“Integrated Treatment by an Ostomy Care Team of a Complicated Mucocutaneous Separation After Radical Cystectomy With Ileal Conduit Urinary Diversion: A Case Report,” page 22) illustrate an approach to managing a complication following radical cystectomy and the creation of an ileal conduit. Optimal patient care requires a multidisciplinary approach.

Now, perhaps more than was ever realized before, it is clear that it takes a global community of health care professionals and researchers to develop the evidence we need to optimize care for all our patients.

The opinions and statements expressed herein are specific to the respective authors and not necessarily those of Wound Management & Prevention or HMP Global. This article was not subject to the Wound Management & Prevention peer-review process.