SHBC1424

L.J.GOH¹, X.ZHU¹ 

NHG Polyclinics¹

To increase the uptake of tele-wound monitoring service, the willingness to perform self-wound care is an important consideration. In 2018, 49.4% of the patients were eligible for this service but only 9% took up this service. Thus, the aim of the study was to identify the barriers in performing wound care at home using a cross-sectional survey.

165 patients who came to Hougang, Ang Mo Kio and Yishun polyclinic for wound care service participated in the survey using consecutive sampling approach. A validated local survey with moderate reliability was used to identify the barriers in performing self-wound care. Barriers in performing wound care at home stems from a lower the score in benefits for self-wound care and a higher score in wound concerns.

Patients who are ADL dependent(p=0.012); on social assistance (p=0.003); had amputated wound dressing(p=0.021); had primary and secondary educational level(p=0.019) scored significantly lower on benefits for self-wound care. Patients who are ADL dependent(p=0.033); Malay(p=0.012); had primary and secondary educational level(p=0.006); and has good family support(p=0.027) scored significantly higher for wound concerns.

Patients with primary and secondary educational level were likely to have barriers to self-wound care than those with no or higher educational level and ironically, those with good family support scored higher for wound concerns. More in-depth studies are needed to explore the thoughts behind these groups to develop effective interventions to encourage self-wound care. Measures are also needed to enable patients on social assistance to recognize the benefits of self-wound care.