Patient experiences of people with leg ulcers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic affected the care of people with chronic leg ulcers (CLUs). Aims: To understand how people with CLUs perceived illness, health care and the public health emergency during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Twenty people attending a wound care clinic in Northern Italy participated in semi-structured interviews and a thematic analysis was conducted using the software Atlas.ti 9. Findings: Results show that most of the participants evaluated their healthcare experience as positive but differed in their perceptions of the changes brought about by the pandemic according to their varied illness experiences and perceived social support. Participants were grouped in four trajectories that provided insight into the construction of personalised support strategies for people with CLUs. Conclusion: These results may help inform healthcare interventions and policies in the care of long-term conditions such as CLUs during a widespread emergency in future.