The Implementation of Wound Care Education for People Affected by Homelessness

Background: People who experience homelessness are more at risk for developing wounds due to living conditions, comorbidities, malnutrition, and environmental exposures. This population is also more at risk for wounds due to limited access to free medical care and resources.

Local Problem: A community-based organization in the Southeastern region of the United States raised concerns about the need for wound care prevention, education, and treatment for the unhoused population. The organization commonly encounters wounds related to injection sites, diabetes, environmental exposure, and other causes.

Methods: The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Model for Improvement guided the project. Improvements were made utilizing the plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycle. Data was collected by comparing the pre-survey results to the post-survey results. A three-month follow-up survey was conducted to measure sustained knowledge.

Interventions: This project provided brochures and an educational program to increase the homeless population’s knowledge of wound prevention and treatment. Participants received a survey to assess their understanding of wounds before, immediately after, and three months after the education. The frequencies and percentages of each response type were recorded for each specified time point.

Results: Fourteen participants took the pre- and post-surveys for the educational programs. The 3-month survey results were skewed as the population at the community organization was continuously changing. Data showed improvement in participant confidence and knowledge on wound care and prevention. Participants reported that the educational brochure and presentation were helpful in better understanding wound care management.

Conclusions: The use of brochures and an educational program increased the participants’ knowledge of wound care prevention and management. The project’s results were limited due to the organization’s changing population. The project can be sustained by the continued use of the brochure and educational program by the staff for the residents.