Knowledge and teaching-learning methods regarding venous leg ulcers in nursing professionals and students: A scoping review

Abstract

Aim: According to our scoping review questions, three aims were formulated to synthesize the evidence published on: (1) the content (2) the best or most appropriate teaching-learning methods for training nurses and undergraduate nursing students in venous leg ulcer care, and (3) to identify the level of knowledge in nurses and undergraduate nursing students about venous leg ulcer care. Background: A venous leg ulcer can be defined as a skin lesion on the leg or foot that occurs in an area affected by ambulatory venous hypertension. Hence, nurse visits are the main driver of Venous Leg Ulcer-related healthcare costs. Optimal levels of knowledge obtained with appropriate methodologies tend to improve care. Nonetheless, the time devoted to chronic wound education in undergraduate nursing curricula has been considered insufficient and inadequate. Methods: For this scoping review, a search was performed in January 2021. To identify sources of evidence, a systematic search was conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, Cuiden, ERIC and ScienceDirect. All types of evidence associated with knowledge, teaching and/or learning methods regarding venous leg ulcers in nursing were included. Results: Finally, 19 documents were included. In these articles, the content mostly widely included in teaching-learning methods was compression therapy (14/19), anatomy, physiology, aetiology and/or pathophysiology (10/19) and topical treatment and care (8/19); various other topics were mentioned but less frequently. Teaching/learning methods and interventions were heterogeneous in modality, content, and duration but the majority showed better results after implementation. When looking at knowledge level, studies mainly focused on nursing staff. In general, it seems that there is a lack of knowledge and skills. Conclusions: Regarding our three pivotal questions: (1) There is no uniform type of content over the studies analysed and the most referred was compression therapy. (2) The educational interventions studied have demonstrated effectiveness, but there is insufficient data to determine which is the most effective. (3) This scoping review has highlighted the lack of knowledge among nurses and nursing students about venous leg ulcer care. Additionally, we felt that there is no ideal assessment tool to quantify knowledge, skills, attitude, confidence, and commitment in this context. Tweetable abstract: A scoping review that synthesise the evidence on the level of knowledge and teaching-learning methods in nursing regarding of people with venous leg ulcers shows lack of knowledge and variability in programs.