For over 30 years, Wounds Canada is committed to giving you and your loved ones the knowledge and tools you need to maintain skin health, prevent wounds and confidently manage wounds when they occur —whether in a clinical setting or at home. Our goal is simple: better care—including better self care—better health, better quality of life.
How do we do this? At Wounds Canada we work in several areas to improve the lives of Canadians.
1) We undertake research to ensure all our resources are based on the best possible evidence and meet the needs of individuals and families all across the country. The Our Voices, Our Stories project is just one example. In this ongoing project we have been collecting stories from patients with wounds to help us understand the needs, frustrations and successes of ordinary Canadians on their wound care journeys.
2) We develop educational resources for patients and their families and make them available for at no cost. For example, many Canadians struggle to access essential wound care, either because of long waits to see a health-care professional or lack of health-care professionals in their local areas. In response, we created the Care at Home Series—a practical, easy-to-use collection of resources designed to help patients and care partners manage wounds safely at home. And great news: the entire series is also available in French. Other resources are available for free download.
3) We advocate for patients and their families. For example, the Patient Bill of Rights and Responsibilities in Wound Prevention and Care is a resource to support patients who are living with or at risk for a wound. We promote its use to ensure your rights are respected and supported by both individual health-care providers and health systems. Part of our advocacy involves urging governments at all levels across the country to ensure they support Canadians by making wound prevention and care a priority when allocating resources. This leads to better wound prevention programs, improved bedside care and more and better health provider education.
4) We create awareness about skin health and wounds through social media, videos, podcasts and other media. We believe it’s important for patients and their families to have information that will help them avoid wounds and care for wounds when they occur. We also provide a clinic directory for patients searching for health-care providers in their local area with wound expertise.