Assess the Level of Practice regarding Prevention of Pressure Ulcer in bedridden patients among Nurses

Abstract

Background: Pressure ulcers are the common conditions among patients hospitalized in acute and chronic care facilities and impose significant burden on patients, their relatives and caregivers. Now days, pressure ulcers are recognized worldwide as one of the five most common causes of harm to patients and preventable patient safety problem. It is also increasingly described as an indicator of the quality of care provided by health care organization. However, pressure ulcers are largely preventable. All patients who are identified as being at risk should have a management plan to prevent development of pressure ulcer, optimize healing, and prevent complications of existing pressure ulcer. Objectives: 1. To assess the level of practice regarding prevention of pressure ulcer in bedridden patients among nurses. 2. To determine the association between pre-test practice scores of nurses regarding prevention of pressure ulcer in bedridden patients with selected sample characteristics. Methodology: The research design used for this study was non – experimental descriptive design. The study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. Population comprises of nurses (staff nurses and student nurses) working in a selected hospital. The sample size selected for this study consists of 60 nurses (staff nurses -24 and student nurses -36) who were working in medical, surgical wards and Intensive Care Units (ICUs). Nurses providing care to the patients who are bed ridden for more than 48 hours were included in the study. Non – probability purposive sampling technique was used to select the samples. The tool used in this study was socio-demographic profile of nurses (separate tool for staff nurses and student nurses) and observational checklist to assess the practice. Result: The overall practice scores of the 60 nurses revealed that 40(66.67%) had good practice, whereas 20(33.33%) samples had average practice and none of them had poor practice. Among of 24 staff nurses; 20(83.33%) had good practice, whereas 4(16.67%) had average practice and none of them had poor practice. Out of 36 student nurses; 20(55.56%) had good practice, whereas 16(44.44%) samples had average practice and none of them had poor practice. It was found that among socio-demographic variables none had association with the practice of staff nurses and student nurses too. Conclusion: The study concluded that continuing education programmes are needed to improve the practices of nurses. Nurses must be motivated to provide back care and position change every second hourly in bedridden patients.