Volume 25 Number 1

This year marks the 34th EWMA conference which will undoubtedly be bigger, stronger and more advanced than ever before. The theme of this year’s conference is: Collaborative and sustainable wound care: making everyone’s contribution count. Reflecting on how we have grown, we did a rudimental search of PubMed for the year 1990 (34 years ago) for the words, chronic wound, wound healing and clinical trial. It yielded only seven results, and when the term clinical trial was removed the yield was only 80. Today, that number has risen to over 280 for the year 2023 alone.

What was striking from the publications in 1990 was the number of sole author papers and the number of sole institution papers. Today, this is no longer the case and, as reflected in the EWMA conference theme, there is far greater evidence of multidisciplinary and cross-country collaboration. This type of collaboration is built through many fora, one of which is the networking and sharing of information that a conference like EWMA facilitates. It shows how global collaboration in wound care can help implement the highest quality of care at a local level in Europe and beyond. To achieve excellence in wound care there is a need for greater international collaboration and local action to support the health of populations and nations.

This month’s issue of Journal of Wound Management reflects an evolution in the type of papers being published and in multidisciplinary wound care research and practice.

In achieving the goal of ‘making everyone’s contribution count’ we have to consider all perspectives: educators, researchers, academics, policy makers, industry, and patients and carers. The movement towards involving patients in the priority setting, design, implementation and dissemination of research is now well established in some countries and gaining momentum in funding schemes. This year’s conference has a strong focus on patient involvement and reflects this movement. In 1990, such a prospect would have been unheard of, and multidisciplinary research and publications were not the norm.

In 1990, life expectancy across Europe was an average of 72.84 years.¹ In 2024 this is now 79.09 years and it is expected to be 82.67 by the year 2050. Our population is ageing and with that is the growing prevalence of chronic illness and risk factors for chronic illness. Many people with wounds have at least one chronic illness.^2,3 Thus, understanding the interplay between chronic disease and wound healing is vital to improving patient outcomes. This type of research will require a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach and must include an understanding of patient needs.

Since 1990 the principles of Open Science have been established in an attempt to make publicly-funded research freely available to all. The Journal of Wound Management is proud to be a part of this as it has Diamond Open Access status with no publication fees and no reader fees. It continues to publish double-blind peer-reviewed papers from international authors, all with the aim of achieving sustainable wound care and improving patient outcomes.

Author(s)

Georgina Gethin PhD, Registered General Nurse
School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
Alliance for Research and Innovation in Wounds, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
Email georgina.gethin@universityofgalway.ie

References

1. [https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/eur/europe/life-expectancy].
2. Gethin G, Touriany E, van Netten JJ, Sobotka L, Probst S; The impact of patient health and lifestyle factors on wound healing, Part 1: Stress, sleep, smoking, alcohol, common medications and illicit drug use; J Wound Management, 2022;23 (1 Suppl 1, pt 1):S1-41.
3. Gethin G, van Netten JJ, Probst S, Touriany E, Sobotka L; The impact of patient health and lifestyle factors on wound healing, Part 2: Physical activity and nutrition; J Wound Management, 2022;23(1 Suppl 1, pt 2):S1-24.