Chronic leg ulcers, part 1: do they affect a patient's social life? 
This article describes a qualitative study into how chronic venous leg ulceration impacts on the social dimension of a patient's life and is presented in two parts.  Part one will discuss the background to the study, give an overview of the existing literature and briefly describe the methodology used for the study.  Part two will follow in the next issue and will present the findings of the study, which will be discussed in relation to the literature.  The limitations of the study will be described, together with conclusions and recommendations for practice and further research.