26 Oct 19:53
Clinicians working in wound care appreciate how life for individuals with wounds is disrupted by care, cost issues, and the pain associated with treatment. Although managing pressure ulcers is often a passion for wound care specialists, the majority of the population is unaware of the challenges involved and many healthcare professionals place little emphasis on identifying and treating skin ulcers. The number of individuals seeking wound care services continues to grow, which suggests that pressure ulcers are a relatively common healthcare concern and an escalating problem. Statistics are available regarding the number of pressure ulcers in the US as well as for other countries of the world. However, little information is available about the number of individuals in Canada who have pressure ulcers. National estimates for the number of pressure ulcers in various healthcare settings in regions across Canada are nonexistent. Without this information, estimating costs to the Canadian healthcare system associated with managing chronic wounds is not possible.