A realist evaluation of ‘paste’ and ‘dry’ compression bandages: The ROSE study
Patients with/without leg ulceration who require compression bandages
This is a non-interventional study. The research nurse will visit the participant at the place where they normally have their wound dressed, for example at their home or the ambulatory clinic, to collect information on the medical history of the participant's legs. At this visit, participants will be asked to complete a questionnaire on their general quality of life. The research nurse will ask questions about pain and how itchy their legs are. The research nurse will visit the participant on the first day of the study (Day 1), after one week (Week 1), after four weeks (Week 4) and after eight weeks (Week 8) which is the last day of the study. If they usually have their wound dressed at home, the research nurse will visit at home during the study. On each visit, the research nurse will ask them to complete questionnaires on how much pain they have and how itchy their legs are. The research nurse will collect information on the wound at each visit and take photographs. Their legs will be bandaged using two types of bandages. One leg will be bandaged using a dry bandage and one leg will be bandaged using a wet bandage. A wet bandage is a bandage that has either zinc or calamine on the first layer; a dry bandage has no wet component. Both systems are currently used, but it is unknown which system works best under which circumstances. Which leg receives what treatment will be decided using a process called ‘randomisation’, which means that each leg will have the same chance of being treated either with a wet bandage or a dry bandage. The Research Nurse will open a sealed envelope which will tell her what type of bandage to apply to the left leg and what bandage to apply to the right leg. The Research Nurse will have no prior knowledge of the instructions contained in the envelope.
1. Age ≥18 years of age 2. Patient living in Newcastle upon Tyne, with a Newcastle GP 3. Patients with existing bilateral leg ulceration or legs that require compression bandages to prevent ulcer (re)-occurrence 4. Patients with new bilateral leg ulceration or legs that require compression bandages to prevent ulcer (re)-occurrence
1. Patients younger than 18 years of age 2. Patients in nursing homes 3. Patients with leg ulcerations that do not necessitate compression bandages. 4. Patients with leg ulcerations that require a specific type of compression bandages (i.e. lymphoedema)