title: Pressure ulcer prevention and treatment practices in inpatient rehabilitation facilities.
abstract: Although many strategies have been developed to prevent pressure ulcers, they remain a significant healthcare problem, particularly for chronically ill patients in rehabilitation facilities. This study describes self-reported pressure ulcer prevention and treatment practices in rehabilitation facilities. Surveys were sent to all 52 licensed inpatient rehabilitation facilities in Missouri; the response rate was 76.9%. Less than 30% of the facilities used inexpensive nursing interventions such as keeping the head of a patient's bed at or below a level of 30 degrees. Informally established protocols were used more frequently than the evidence-based pressure ulcer prevention and treatment guidelines issued by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. Furthermore, only 50% of the respondent facilities used established, valid, and reliable risk assessment tools. There was little difference in the interventions used when a client either developed a pressure ulcer or was assessed as being at risk for an ulcer. These findings reveal a significant gap between research and practice and suggest a need to educate rehabilitation nurses about the most appropriate, evidence-based nursing interventions for preventing and treating pressure ulcers.
authors.affiliation: MU Sinclair School of Nursing, University of Missouri-Columbia, USA. ws216@mizzou.edu
authors.forename: Wipa
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sae-Sia
authors.forename: Deidre
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wipke-Tevis
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000465:Algorithms; D004282:Documentation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008923:Missouri; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000451:nursing / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy*; D012047:Rehabilitation Centers; D018570:Risk Assessment; D017592:Skin Care