Nurse-led education sets out to improve patient concordance and prevent recurrence of leg ulcers

Objective: This study evaluated the effects of a structured nurse-led education programme that aimed to improve patient concordance and prevent venous leg ulcer recurrence. Method: The design was quasi-experimental. Subjects (average age: 80) had venous leg ulceration that had healed within the previous two years, and were cared for at home by a district nurse. Data were available on 49 patients with 97 legs, 72 of which had had venous leg ulcers. Patients were divided into two groups: a control group, which received ‘usual’ care, and an experimental group, which was exposed to the education programme. Recurrence rates, the effects of the education on patient behaviour and the effect on recurrence of having both ankle movement and general mobility were measured over one year. Results: Patients in the experimental group experienced significantly less recurrence over the year (log rank test=8.28, p=0.004). To control for differences in mobility and ankle movement in the control and experimental groups at ba...