Active Organizational Research

Amplifying Patient Voices Through Digital Storytelling – A Collaborative Initiative

Wounds Canada, in collaboration with Dr. Idevania Costa, is participating in an innovative SSHRC-funded initiative designed to transform wound care practices and promote health equity through digital storytelling. As part of the “Our Voices, Our Stories” project series, this initiative empowers individuals living with chronic wounds to share their personal experiences of navigating social life and the Canadian healthcare system while managing a hard-to-heal wound.

Using participatory visual research methodologies like digital storytelling, the initiative provides a platform for individuals with lived experiences and their care partners to reflect, share, and discover therapeutic value in their stories. Dr. Costa emphasizes that these stories not only give a voice to individuals often marginalized in healthcare conversations but also inspire systemic change by raising awareness of their struggles and advocating for better services and support.

Healthcare providers are encouraged to involve their patients or their care partners in this initiative, as sharing their stories can offer narrative therapy, support their healing journeys, and contribute to improvements in wound care services. Similarly, individuals living with chronic wounds or their caregivers are invited to share their stories to inspire others facing similar challenges, break barriers in access to care and social inclusion, and advocate for a more compassionate and inclusive healthcare system.

To learn more about the initiative or explore existing patient stories, visit the digital storytelling collection on the Wounds Canada website. For additional information or to get involved, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Together, we can amplify patient voices, foster understanding, and drive meaningful change in wound care. 

Canadian DFU Policy Roundtable – Moving Recommendations to Action

Wounds Canada, as a proud member of the Limb Preservation Alliance (LPA), is dedicated to advancing the integration of best practices into health policies to improve outcomes for those living with diabetes-related foot disease. The LPA, established in 2023, includes key organizations such as D-Foot International, the Caribbean Wounds Network, the Limb Preservation Alliance, and the Canadian Podiatric Association. Together, these organizations work to ensure that the 2023 International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF) recommendations for the organization of care are adopted into health policies worldwide over the next decade.

A pivotal global study led by Dr. Kathleen Stevens at Memorial University has pinpointed the priority IWGDF recommendations and a proposed timeline for policy implementation, as identified by diabetic foot experts. Building on these findings, Wounds Canada is collaborating with its partners to develop a knowledge mobilization proposal. This initiative aims to bridge the gap between evidence and action, ensuring that health systems across Canada are equipped to implement these critical recommendations effectively.

How is COVID-19 affecting the delivery of wound care?

One of Wounds Canada’s goals is to support health-care professionals who provide wound care to Canadians. With COVID-19 spreading, research is necessary to minimize negative direct and indirect impacts on individual care providers and their families.

In order to address this, Wounds Canada has developed a qualitative online survey to collect data from the perspective of Canadian wound care clinicians (e.g., nurses, MDs and allied health professionals). Survey questions explore how the delivery of care has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic and how health-care providers have adapted delivery of wound care services with patients and their families.

Pressure Injury COVID-19 Patient Experience Research Survey 

A survey has been developed by Janet Kuhnke, Sheila Casemore and Peter Athanasopoulos to look into How is COVID-19 Affecting Access to and the Delivery of Skin and Wound Care Services for Individuals Living with Pressure Injuries and/or Spinal Cord Injury? We are at the stages of inputting the survey questions into the “Hosted in Canada Surveys” platform, which will be ready to be reviewed prior to the distribution of the survey. This initiative will consist of survey collection, data analysis, and follow-up surveys, which will be completed towards the end of this year. 

If you are a health-care provider that works with individuals living with a pressure injury and/or spinal cord, please encourage them to participate in our survey by sharing the survey link with them. Their responses are greatly appreciated and vital to help us better understand how COVID-19 affected their access to receive skin and wound care services! If you are a patient or caregiver with lived experience of pressure injury and/or spinal cord injury, please consider taking a few minutes to answer the survey. It should take 12-15 minutes to complete.

Interprofessional Wound Care Team Competency Framework  

The interprofessional wound care team competency framework consists of several co-investigators and a principal investigator, Dr. Virginie Blanchette. We are working collaboratively to create framework of key competencies that is vital in wound care. We are at the initial stages of this project and have established a working document that is being reviewed and receiving feedback from our skilled group of co-investigators. We hope to create a strong document and begin the Delphi study as our next steps.