Wound Healing Awareness Month

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Wounds Canada is at the forefront of promoting proactive measures to safely address wounds.

Join us during Wound Healing Awareness Month, and all through the year, as we raise awareness about the importance of wound prevention and effective management as well as the steps necessary to maintain healthy, wound-free skin.

Wound Facts

  • A wound is a breakdown of the skin and/or supporting tissues. 
  • Skin is always at risk of injury, but has an amazing ability to heal itself, especially in healthy individuals and where internal and external factors don’t limit healing. 
  • Some people are at higher risk for wounds that are slow to heal, heal incompletely or don’t heal at all because of their age, health status, activities or other factors. 
  • Even minor wounds can turn serious if they are not treated properly and on time.
  • Wounds can cause pain, infection, loss of function and even death!
  • A large percentage of health care is wound care.
  • Wounds cost Canadian health-care systems over $12 billion annually!

Wounds Canada promotes a stepped approach to skin health and wound care.

  1. The first step is prevention, or healthy skin, which is achieved through regular, high-quality skin care and early identification of individuals at risk for wounds followed by steps designed to keep skin healthy. 
  2. If wounds do occur, timely, effective treatment can help the person’s body heal the wound in a normal time frame and prevent the wounds from becoming more serious. 
  3. Any long-standing or complicated wounds likely need more expert support to ensure the wounds stays on a healing path. 
  4. In the case where an individual has a non-healable wound (a wound that cannot heal because their body doesn’t have the ability due to serious health complications), the priority should be on treatment that sustains an excellent quality of life.

Whether you are a patient, clinician or policy maker wounds and wound healing will affect you. Learn how Wounds Canada can support you on your wound healing journey.

For Patients

  • Understanding your risk and taking preventive steps are key in managing wounds. They can occur to anyone, at any time. Particularly for difficult-to-heal wounds, early identification and action are essential. Check out the wide variety of Wounds Canada resources for Patients and Caregivers to learn more about skin health, wounds and wound healing.
  • If you have a wound and it doesn’t seem to be healing, don't delay until things worsen; start your path to recovery by seeking expert advice.
  • If you have diabetes, you are at higher risk for skin breakdown in your feet. Check out Caring for Your Feet: Safe Foot Care if You Have Diabetes provides clear, simple instructions on how to do this. 
  • Talking about your own experiences with wounds and wound healing can help raise awareness about this important topic. Visit the our Our Voices, Our Stories initiative to hear from other patients and/or for information on how you can share your story.
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For Health-care Providers

Skin care, risk screening and early, effective interventions are the best way to support your patients at risk for or with wounds. Make sure to check out the Health-care Professional section of this website for a wide range of tools and resources you can use in your practice. Some essential resources include:

  • The Importance of Timely Interventions: an article that demonstrates the important role clinicians play in identifying patients at risk for wounds and ensuing action and the potential outcomes of their decisions on wound prevention and/or healing.
  • The resources for Patients and Caregivers: They are helpful tools when providing education and instruction to your patients on self-management techniques for skin health and wound healing.
  • Looking to deepen your knowledge of wound healing and connect with fellow professionals? Join us for Wounds Canada’s 35th Anniversary Conference—a premier event that brings together leaders, clinicians, and experts in skin health and wound care for three days of cutting-edge education and collaborative networking. 

For Policy Makers

  • If you are a health decision maker you can use the Best Practice Recommendations for Skin Health and Wound Management 2025 to support your decision making. This essential guide on skin physiology and wound healing, with specific info on a range of wound types, provides information to decision makers on the type and timing of interventions that support positive patient outcomes, efficient use of clinician time and organizational cost effectiveness.
  • The Importance of Timely Interventions is an article that illustrates the importance of systems that support risk screening and early, effective actions to prevent wounds and support wound healing.

For Everyone!

  • When you see one of our posts on social media, like, repost and share the information with your friends to amplify our message.

Make a charitable donation to Wounds Canada to help us provide essential support and resources to those at risk for or with wounds. Your generosity can change lives! 

Wounds Canada Charity

We can’t do this alone;
your support can make a difference in wound care in Canada.
Please donate to Wounds Canada today
to support our journey toward a common goal:
patients, families and health-care teams working hand in hand
to better prevent and care for wounds.

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