The ethics of using contingency management to reduce pressure ulcers: data from an exploratory study.
Although there is a widely held argument that pressure ulcers are preventable, they continue to cause major healthcare and financial problems. The blame for pressure ulcers has typically focused on the patient's self-neglect or self-destructiveness. However, more recently, there has been a call for a paradigm shift from the current "paternalistic" medical model to one that includes the patient as a participant in his or her own care. Contingency management, a procedure well known in behaviorism, is presented as one such possibility. Controversy about the use of monetary reward, as well as discussion of initial efficacy in a current study, are discussed.
Adkins
V K
VK
Shepherd Center, Crawford Research Institute, Atlanta, GA 30309, USA.
Mathewson
C
C
Ayllon
T
T
Jones
M L
ML
D000328:Adult; D017046:Cost Savings; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications; D010358:Patient Participation; D010865:Pilot Projects; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000191:economics / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*; D012648:Self Care; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications