title: A resource-efficient planning for pressure ulcer prevention.
abstract: Pressure ulcer is a critical problem for bed-ridden and wheelchair-bound patients, diabetics, and the elderly. Patients need to be regularly repositioned to prevent excessive pressure on a single area of body, which can lead to ulcers. Pressure ulcers are extremely costly to treat and may lead to several other health problems, including death. The current standard for prevention is to reposition at-risk patients every two hours. Even if it is done properly, a fixed schedule is not sufficient to prevent all ulcers. Moreover, it may result in nurses being overworked by turning some patients too frequently. In this paper, we present an algorithm for finding a nurse-effort optimal repositioning schedule that prevents pressure ulcer formation for a finite planning horizon. Our proposed algorithm uses data from a commercial pressure mat assembled on the beds surface and provides a sequence of next positions and the time of repositioning for each patient.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ostadabbas
authors.forename: Rasoul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yousefi
authors.forename: Mehrdad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nourani
authors.forename: Miad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Faezipour
authors.forename: Lakshman
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tamil
authors.forename: Matthew Q
authors.initials: MQ
authors.lastname: Pompeo
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D019295:Computational Biology; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006801:Humans; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration*; D056888:Patient Positioning / Q000379:methods / Q000451:nursing; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000451:nursing* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013312:Stress, Physiological