Perceived stress and readiness to undertake biodebridement in the group of nurses undertaking prevention and treatment of chronic wounds

Abstract

IntroductionStress as the body's response to adverse stimulus is recognized as one of the key problems in basic and clinical neurological studies. Stress is an indispensable component of modern nursing with its low doses being desirable, however, prolonged stress is detrimental to health increasing the risk of chronic disease i.e., hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, electrolyte disturbances, occupational burnout, depression, anxiety disorders. The implementation of certain techniques and therapeutic methods may have a stressful effect from the point of view of practice and the patient's condition.MethodsThe authors undertook the study to assess the intensity of the perceived stress in the group of nurses dealing with wound care in the perspective of implementing wound debridment using Lucilia sericata larvae. The study group consisted of 290 nurses specialized in chronic wounds undergoing training at the Postgraduate Training Center of Nurses and Midwives in Rzeszów, out of the entire group of 1.136 individuals participating in training courses organized in Poland in 2020–2021. The study used the diagnostic survey method, the research tool was a scientific research protocol consisting of tools (MDT perception questionnaire, perceived stress scale (PSS-10).ResultsCertain differences in the level of stress in the study sample were observed between age categories, but they were not statistically significant. The greatest differences between the levels of stress in the study sample were observed between people who completed treatment courses and those who did not complete these courses. The higher the stress level, the lower the willingness to undertake such therapy. The analysis of grouped data leads to interesting observations. There were statistically significant differences in the score in the MDT10 scale in the categories of people with different stress levels. The highest readiness to implement MDT was observed in the category of people with the lowest perceived level of stress.ConclusionsThe level of professional experience related to postgraduate education increases opportunities addressing new professional challenges. The level of perceived stress may influence decisions related to the use of biological therapy. The higher the level of stress, the lower the readiness to undertake MDT.

Variables Associated with Attitudes toward Biodebridement Using Lucilia sericata Larvae in a Group of Nurses

“…These findings build upon the results of earlier studies [16,21,27,28], especially defining the insignificant role of gender in influencing therapist attitudes towards maggot therapy and supporting the association of knowledge and wound care experience with greater comfort about maggots and maggot therapy.…”

“…Some nurses describe their initial experiences with MDT therapy as being stressful, accompanied by sleep disturbances, ruminations, and visions of maggots wriggling in the wound [12,14]. Przybek-Mita et al [16] found that the level of this stress may reduce the readiness to implement this modality in therapeutic protocols. Other studies have also suggested that gender may play a role in the acceptance of maggot therapy [21,27], although these differences did not reach statistical significance.…”

“…The mean age was over 40 years; the median was 44 years. The median of work experience was 18 years [16,21]. All 35 men (100%) were qualified and divided into 6 categories, and then a randomization algorithm using a pseudo-random number generator in Excel (Microsoft, Redmond, WA, USA) was used.…”

“…The unpleasant smell of necrotic wounds and the sight of the larvae may evoke negative experiences, especially in women [10,14]. For patients, concerns about the larvae escaping the wound dressing and crawling on their body could be additional factors that cause their revulsion towards MDT [16,17].…”

“…During an interdisciplinary discussion of international cooperation and exchange of experience between therapists at the University of Rzeszów and the BioTherapeutics, Education, & Research (BTER) Foundation, Irvine, California, USA, an attempt was made to answer the question of what factors may determine a therapist's reluctance to larval therapy, and what actions should be implemented in order to popularize the method [22]. The aim of the following study was to determine whether variables such as gender, professional experience, and personal stress level of the therapist affect the readiness associated with the use of Lucilia sericata larvae in a subgroup of previously selected pairs of nurses specializing in the prevention and treatment of wounds [16,21].…”