TY - JOUR

T1 - Patients’ behaviour after referral to a wound care clinic for diabetic foot ulcer care

T2 - a grounded theory study

AU - Aagaard, Thomas Vedste

AU - Skou, Søren T.

AU - Brorson, Stig

AU - Madsen, Ulla Riis

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 MA Healthcare Ltd.

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - Objective: The aim of this study was to construct a grounded theory regarding patients’ activity behaviour over time after referral to an outpatient clinic for diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) care. Method: A constructivist grounded theory approach was used. Data from observations of and interviews with participants were collected and analysed using the constant comparative method. Based on this, the grounded theory ‘Just a bump in the road’ was constructed. Results: The cohort included five participants who considered their ulcers as ‘Just a bump in the road’ in their lives, and four subcategories were embedded in this core category: ‘Restricting my freedom’; ‘Trusting or doubting the system’; ‘Feeling no pain or illness’; and ‘Receiving insufficient information’. Together, these categories describe the participants’ behaviour and underlying concerns related to daily activities after referral to an outpatient clinic for the care of their DFU. Conclusion: The grounded theory ‘Just a bump in the road’ describes how participants with a DFU viewed their condition as merely a passing phase that would end with them regaining what they considered a normal life. Integrating these results into clinical practice could lead to improved care and a focus shift among health professionals from viewing patients as being defined by their wounds to seeing them as people who live with a wound.

AB - Objective: The aim of this study was to construct a grounded theory regarding patients’ activity behaviour over time after referral to an outpatient clinic for diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) care. Method: A constructivist grounded theory approach was used. Data from observations of and interviews with participants were collected and analysed using the constant comparative method. Based on this, the grounded theory ‘Just a bump in the road’ was constructed. Results: The cohort included five participants who considered their ulcers as ‘Just a bump in the road’ in their lives, and four subcategories were embedded in this core category: ‘Restricting my freedom’; ‘Trusting or doubting the system’; ‘Feeling no pain or illness’; and ‘Receiving insufficient information’. Together, these categories describe the participants’ behaviour and underlying concerns related to daily activities after referral to an outpatient clinic for the care of their DFU. Conclusion: The grounded theory ‘Just a bump in the road’ describes how participants with a DFU viewed their condition as merely a passing phase that would end with them regaining what they considered a normal life. Integrating these results into clinical practice could lead to improved care and a focus shift among health professionals from viewing patients as being defined by their wounds to seeing them as people who live with a wound.

KW - DFU

KW - diabetes

KW - diabetic foot ulcer

KW - exercise

KW - grounded theory

KW - qualitative

KW - rehabilitation

KW - semi-structured interviews

KW - wound

KW - wound care

KW - wound dressing

KW - wound healing

U2 - 10.12968/jowc.2022.0265

DO - 10.12968/jowc.2022.0265

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 38843012

AN - SCOPUS:85195439240

VL - 33

SP - 432

EP - 440

JO - Journal of wound care

JF - Journal of wound care

SN - 0969-0700

IS - 6

ER -