Impact of a Pressure Ulcers Instructional Program on Nurses' Performance and Patient Outcomes

Abstract

Background: Pressure ulcers are still a big problem in intensive care units. Nurses play a crucial role in its prevention and management. The goal of this study was to assess impact of a pressure ulcer instructional program on nurses' performance and patient outcomes. Method: A quasi-experimental design was used. The research was carried out at the Alazhar University Hospital in Damietta city. Subjects: includes 51 nurses and 80 patients were assigned to the ICU unit. Instrument: Structured interview sheet for nurses. It consisted of two parts: general characteristics, their understanding of pressure ulcers, observational checklist, patients' profile records, patients' outcomes, and the Braden Scale. Results. The study revealed that nurses' knowledge and practices significantly improved towards pressure ulcers post program implementation when compared to preprogram (with P value less than .05). Moreover, there was a significant improvement in pressure ulcer healing(outcome) among study group compared with control group who received routine care before the program (with P value less than .05). Conclusion: it was concluded that the educational programme is very helpful in enhancing knowledge and practice for nurses in intensive care units, as well as patient outcomes. Recommendation: More study should be done to evaluate the routine use and regular updating of pressure ulcer risk assessment sheets, as well as ongoing nurse education on PUs prevention.