Living with hard-to-heal wounds: A global health challenge explored through analytic sketches

Chronic, hard-to-heal wounds are a major public health concern, putting a strain on healthcare systems and causing significant psychosocial distress for patients. This article details a project that engaged 11 people with chronic wounds and their care partners as subject matter experts. We used a visual method called analytic sketching to analyze their experiences. Analytic sketches are a cognitive tool that helps researchers identify patterns, gain deeper insights, and uncover experiences that might not be obvious from text alone. This approach enhances the trustworthiness and rigor of the findings, especially when combined with verbal data and techniques like participant checking. The sketches visually revealed several key psychosocial themes. Color was used to depict the pain experienced by patients and their caregivers, the importance of support, and a sense of chaos. Ink lines and strokes highlighted the frustration and communication failures with healthcare professionals and the barriers to care. Finally, visual representations were presented to express a collective experience of navigating the complex political realities of wound care within a publicly funded system. By showcasing six representative sketches, this article demonstrates the effectiveness of using arts-based methods to analyze complex healthcare experiences. The findings have important implications for both clinical practice and policy development, offering a more holistic understanding of living with chronic wounds.