Patients' behaviour after referral to a wound care clinic for diabetic foot ulcer care: a grounded theory study

Objective: The aim of this study was to construct a grounded theory regarding patients’ activity behaviour over time after referral to an outpatient clinic for diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) care. Method: A constructivist grounded theory approach was used. Data from observations of and interviews with participants were collected and analysed using the constant comparative method. Based on this, the grounded theory ‘Just a bump in the road’ was constructed. Results: The cohort included five participants who considered their ulcers as ‘Just a bump in the road’ in their lives, and four subcategories were embedded in this core category: ‘Restricting my freedom’; ‘Trusting or doubting the system’; ‘Feeling no pain or illness’; and ‘Receiving insufficient information’. Together, these categories describe the participants’ behaviour and underlying concerns related to daily activities after referral to an outpatient clinic for the care of their DFU. Conclusion: The grounded theory ‘Just a bump in the road’ describes how participants with a DFU viewed their condition as merely a passing phase that would end with them regaining what they considered a normal life. Integrating these results into clinical practice could lead to improved care and a focus shift among health professionals from viewing patients as being defined by their wounds to seeing them as people who live with a wound.