Effectiveness of a skin care nursing unit on in-hospital pressure injuries in a Chilean hospital

Abstract

Introduction: pressure injuries constitute a public health problem that impacts on people's health status and quality of life, increasing costs for hospital organisations. Aim: to evaluate the impact of a specialised skin care nursing unit on hospital-acquired pressure injuries in a high complexity public hospital in Chile. Methods: quantitative, quasi-experimental, prospective study. A non-probabilistic convenience sample of users who presented at least one pressure injury of in-hospital origin during the study year was used. Persons hospitalised in closed-care clinical services were included, including adult and paediatric emergency services. Results: 5106 people were evaluated, of whom 9,77 % presented pressure injuries. The average age was 67,27 years, the distribution by age group corresponded to 62,73 % in the elderly, 32,67 % in adults and 4,61 % in the paediatric/neonatal population. The clinical services with the highest number of pressure injuries corresponded to internal medicine and the adult intensive care unit. In relation to the anatomical area, the highest incidence was in the sacral area and then the heel, with category 2 being the most frequent. The incidence prior to the implementation of the intervention during the year 2021 corresponded to 28,75 %, while after the strategy it was quantified as 9,7 % (p<0,001). Conclusions: implementing a specialised skin care nursing unit has an impact on reducing the incidence of pressure injuries in hospitalised persons