Skin Frailty & Skin Tears Resource Hub

A joint collaboration between EWMA and ISTAP

About the initiative

This project aims to increase awareness about skin frailty and skin tears, particularly among older adults. Through a series of online digital resources—including short videos and interviews—we aim to share real-life experiences of patients and healthcare professionals to educate the public and improve clinical practice.

The project was only possible thanks to the support of Essity and Clinimed.

“Protect frail skin, Prevent skin tears, Work together for a world without skin tears”

Background and collaboration

Skin frailty and skin tears affect thousands of people worldwide, particularly older adults and neonates. Both conditions can be extremely limiting for the individual and can lead to persistent pain, stress, and a sense of humiliation, with a significant impact on everyday life.

With this project, the aim is to bring to the fore the real-life experiences of people living with skin frailty and skin tears. The project gives voice both to patients who are directly affected and to the healthcare professionals and caregivers who manage and treat these conditions in daily clinical practice.

The International Skin Tear Advisory Panel (ISTAP) and the European Wound Management Association (EWMA) have partnered to develop an educational project on skin frailty and skin tears, with the objective of presenting authentic experiences through patient narratives and the perspectives of healthcare professionals. By sharing experiences and key learnings across the continuum from acute care to the community setting, the project seeks to contribute to improved patient outcomes. With a strong focus on awareness-raising and support for self-care, the target audience includes healthcare professionals, patients, and the general public.

The working group behind the project consists of representatives from ISTAP and EWMA:

• Samantha Holloway (EWMA and ISTAP)
• Steven Smet (ISTAP)
• Ray Samuriwo (ISTAP)
• Cathy Harley (ISTAP)

Industry Sponsors

Essity

Essity is a global leader in health and hygiene, dedicated to breaking barriers to well-being. Through our products and solutions, we support the hygiene and health of more than one billion people every day in around 150 countries. With our Leukoplast brand, with over 120 years of expertise in professional wound care and fixation, Essity is dedicated to protecting and caring for one of the body’s most vulnerable and often overlooked organs: the skin.

As a longstanding partner of ISTAP and EWMA, Essity is proud to support the Living with Skin Frailty & Skin Tears initiative. By combining clinical expertise, patient insight and realworld experience, the project raises awareness and strengthens education around skin frailty and skin tears. It highlights best practice of the management of fragile skin and skin tears and underscores the critical role of prevention- including the informed choice of adhesive fixation selection for fragile skin. This collaboration reflects Essity’s commitment to elevating standards of care and improving outcomes for ageing and vulnerable populations with fragile skin

Learn more

Essity company homepage:https://www.essity.com/

CliniMed

About CliniMed

As a family-run British organisation, CliniMed Limited and its sister company SecuriCare (Medical) Limited are built on a foundation of close collaboration with healthcare professionals and patients. Our mission is to provide more than just products; we aim to deliver education, support, and clinical solutions that improve quality of life across stoma, wound & skin care, and continence care settings.

Our Motivation: Supporting the Skin Tear Project

Skin tears are often preventable, yet they remain a significant burden for both patients and healthcare systems. By partnering with iSTAP and EWMA, we aim to:

Provide the tools and evidence-based education necessary to protect fragile, aging, or compromised skin and reduce the “hidden” complications of wound care, such as Medical Adhesive-Related Skin Injury (MARSI).

The Role of Appeel® Sterile

A cornerstone of our contribution to skin tear management is Appeel® Sterile, the only sterile medical adhesive remover range available in the UK that is specially designed to care for even the most fragile skin.

Protecting the Current Wound

When a skin tear occurs, maintaining the integrity of the periwound skin is important.

Appeel® Sterile can be used directly on and around active skin tears without increasing the risk of infection or interfering with the natural healing process.

It allows for the quick, atraumatic removal of adhesive dressings and residues, ensuring that the existing injury is not worsened during dressing changes.

Preventing Future Tears

Appeel® Sterile is not just a protective tool – it is a preventative necessity for patients with “paper-thin” or high-risk skin.

By disrupting the adhesive bond dressings and tapes, Appeel® Sterile prevents the mechanical forces that cause Medical Adhesive-Related Skin Injuries.

For more information on how to use Appeel® Sterile go to: https://www.clinimed.co.uk/resources/how-to-use-appeel-sterile/

For any further information Email: enquiries@clinimed.co.uk

Contributors and experts

The realisation of this project was made possible by the support of companies and experts who contributed their knowledge and expertise from different fields.

The video materials for the project were produced by the content creation companies Mole Digital and Yudai Communications. Their professional expertise and creativity have played an important role in shaping the final outcomes of the project.

In addition, the project has been supported by experts and key opinion leaders with substantial experience in the field of skin frailty and skin tears. We would like to express our sincere thanks to the following experts who contributed by sharing their reflections on the patient and healthcare professional video materials:

• Dimitri Beeckman – EWMA President
• Hilde Beele
• Paulo Ramos
• Guido Ciprandi

Our thanks also go out to the patients and relatives that contributed to this project as ‘Experts by Experience’ by sharing their lived experience, knowledge and perspective in interviews. We are also grateful to Corinne Scicluna and Lenora Fitzgerald for helping us to find patients and relatives that were happy to contribute to this project.

Skin Tear Experiences

Available resources

This resource includes a 4-minute animated video where you will hear both patient and relative voices discussing their experience of skin frailty and skin tears.

There is also a series of short videos with Paulo Ramos, Nurse Specialist at ULS Póvoa de Varzim/Vila do Conde, USF Corino de Andrade, Portugal, discussing the patient experience and offering guidance for clinical practice.

Available resources

This resource includes a series of short videos with Healthcare Professionals working in hospital and community settings discussing skin frailty and skin tears.

There is also a series of short videos with Professor Dimitri Beeckman, RN, PhD, FEANS, FAAN, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden and Ghent University, Belgium and Dr Hilde Beele, Dermatologist and head of the wound care center, Ghent University, Belgium, discussing skin frailty and skin tears.

Available resources

In this resource Dr Guido Ciprandi, Adjunct Professor at the Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery Clinic at the University Hospital of Padova, Italy, discusses skin frailty and skin tears in the Neonate and Paediatric Population.