Managing Wounds as a Team - Development of a universal model for the team approach to wound care

Abstract

Introduction: The Interdisciplinary treatment (IDT) approach to wound care is believed to be key to develop the most appropriate trajectory of care for patients with wounds. Indeed, The WHO argues that professionals, who actively bring the skills of different individuals together, with the aim of clearly addressing the health care needs of patients and the community, strengthen health systems leading to enhanced clinical and health related outcomes (WHO 2010). However, as yet little is understood pertaining to what is really meant by IDT and how is it realised in practice. The Association for the Advancement of Wound Care - AAWC (USA), the Australian Wound Management Association - AWMA and the European Wound Management Association - EWMA have investigated this further with the aim to publish a common Position Document on the topic. Results: A systematic literature review revealed that no definition exists for what is meant by multi, inter- or transdisciplinary in the context of wound care. The focus tends to be on who comprise the members of the team, rather than the model upon which the composition of the team was based. Thus, there is a significant lack of clarity within the wound care literature, meaning that individual interpretation of the concepts is highly likely and as such largely unhelpful in guiding practice in the area. Conclusion and discussion: Owing to this lack of clarity, the authors have developed a universal and widely applicable interdisciplinary treatment model for wound Care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]