Pressure injury prevalence in a private health service: Risks and recommendations.

Abstract

A pressure injury point prevalence was conducted by a private healthcare service (PHS) to determine the prevalence of pressure injuries in inpatients and to provide statistics for use in future comparison studies. The survey was conducted as part of the quality improvement programme of the PHS and the survey instrument was a modified version of a widely used existing tool. On the day of the survey, data collectors, working in pairs, performed skin inspections and completed the survey. Data were then collated and analysed. The overall pressure injury prevalence was 28.2% but with the exclusion of stage one injuries, decreased to 9.9%. Multivariate analysis revealed that the main risk factors for pressure injury development were the inability to reposition independently, older age and having a diagnosis of cancer. The major recommendations for practice change included the provision of pressure relieving devices to all patients unable to reposition independently, alteration of the Braden Scale risk score used on admission to identify older patients at risk from 16 to 18 in accordance with published literature and provision of further education to nurses about use of the Braden Scale and of pressure relieving devices. This study has also highlighted the need for further investigation into the reasons for patient non-participation in research and the direct and indirect relationships between surgery and acquisition of pressure injuries.