[The meaning of caring from the viewpoint of patients with wounds due to peripheral vascular disease].
This qualitative study describes the meaning of Caring from the viewpoint of the patient with chronic wounds due to peripheral vascular disease (PVD). Because the meaning of Caring can not be understood independent from the life context of the persons involved, the following questions have been formulated: 1) What influence does living with chronic wounds have on the everyday life of the patient? 2) What is the meaning of Caring for patients with chronic wounds? To answer these questions, qualitative research methods according to Mayring were chosen. A convenience sample of twelve patients, seven women and five men, with ages ranging from 69 to 86 years (median 77 years), were interviewed from April to November 2002. Data were analyzed according to Mayring (2000) through content analysis. The results show that the everyday life of the patient is strongly influenced by the effects of having chronic wounds. Patients view their lives with chronic wounds, the effects on their day to day life and the support from health professionals and family caregivers as a whole. Patients differentiate between Caring from Health professionals and Caring from family caregivers. Caring from health professionals is described primarily in the context of treatments and support situations. Caring from family caregivers is experienced as a part of the everyday life. Patients assume that healthcare professionals have the needed expertise, knowledge and skills. They hope, however, to be valued and respected and describe these characteristics as "kind and nice". When patients experience these attitudes from the nurses they feel they are taken seriously and are cared for. This is a requirement to enable or empower patients to understand and implement their treatment regimen. Caring must always be an element of nursing care and determines the standard of the quality of the patient-nurse relationship.