Academic Journal

Impact of climatic variations on lymphoedema: an international comparison.

Λεπτομέρειες βιβλιογραφικής εγγραφής
Τίτλος: Impact of climatic variations on lymphoedema: an international comparison.
Συγγραφείς: Witt S; Flinders University, College of Medicine and Public Health, Bedford Park, South Australia.; Földi Clinic Centre of Lymphology, Hinterzarten, Germany., Oberlin M; Földi Clinic Centre of Lymphology, Hinterzarten, Germany., Gordon S; Flinders University, College of Nursing and Health Science, Caring Futures Institute., Campbell N; Flinders University, College of Medicine and Public Health, Bedford Park, South Australia., Piller N; Flinders University, College of Medicine and Public Health, Bedford Park, South Australia.
Πηγή: British journal of community nursing [Br J Community Nurs] 2026 Oct; Vol. 31 (Sup10), pp. S39-S45. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Sep 22.
Τύπος έκδοσης: Journal Article; Comparative Study
Γλώσσα: English
Στοιχεία περιοδικού: Publisher: MA Healthcare Ltd Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 9815827 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1462-4753 (Print) Linking ISSN: 14624753 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Br J Community Nurs Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s): Publication: London : MA Healthcare Ltd
Original Publication: London : Mark Allen Pub.
Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): Lymphedema*/therapy , Lymphedema*/nursing , Climate Change*, Humans ; Female ; Australia ; Middle Aged ; Germany ; Male ; Focus Groups ; Aged ; Adult ; Quality of Life
Περίληψη: Background: Lymphoedema is a chronic condition that requires ongoing, daily management. It can have a significant impact on an individual's quality of life and comes with a high personal and health service cost. Lymphoedema is a highly dynamic disease requiring constant adaptation of management techniques to prevent worsening of the symptoms.
Aims: To understand differences in lymphoedema management across the changing seasons in Germany and Australia.
Methods: Focus groups were conducted in Germany with people living with lymphoedema by following a phenomenological approach. Outcomes were compared to those from focus groups previously conducted with people in Australia.
Findings: There were high similarities between countries, with most participants reporting that heat and humidity caused increased challenges in managing lymphoedema, namely that the affected limb felt heavier, more swollen and caused increased lethargy. European participants tended to do more self-bandaging and more regular therapy appointments than their Australian counterparts.
Conclusions: All participants reported needing to consider the weather in planning their daily activities, with a large range of strategies implemented to keep their swelling in check and prevent further decline.
Implications for Practice: Further research in this area will subsequently contribute to treatment recommendations and may benefit production of new materials that can, in the light of predicted climate change, prepare for the future.
Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.
Contributed Indexing: Keywords: climate change; climatic variations; compression; lymphoedema; swelling; weather conditions
Entry Date(s): Date Created: 20260922 Date Completed: 20260922 Latest Revision: 20260922
Update Code: 20260923
DOI: 10.12968/bjcn.2026.0048
PMID: 42771675
Βάση Δεδομένων: MEDLINE