How generalist nurses inform their clinical decision-making in wound management: a scoping review

Abstract

Background Wound care forms a significant component of nurses’ roles across acute, long-term, community and primary healthcare settings. This scoping review aimed to examine and analyse key concepts and factors that inform nurses’ decision-making and the use of evidence-based practice (EBP) in wound management. Methods A literature scoping review was undertaken, searching original research articles from academic databases and grey literature. Papers were screened for relevant topics and inclusion criteria included wounds, decision-making and nursing. The quality of evidence was evaluated using a validated quality assessment tool. Thematic analysis was used to analyse results through dominant and meaningful themes. Results A total of 14 relevant peer-reviewed articles were identified. Five decision-making contributors were identified: patient factors – patient factors, education and information, expert opinion, peer guidance, and economics and logistics. These results identify evidence gaps to inform future research opportunities on nurses’ decision-making in wound management. Conclusion The review identified factors nurses use in decision-making in wound care. Recommendations include the need for high-quality research on the area, the uptake of standardised wound assessment, improved pathways for collaboration with experts in the field, and increased training for nurses on evidence appraisal to address economic burden and optimising patient outcomes.