Comparing Pressure Injury Incidence Based on Repositioning Intervals and Support Surfaces in Acute Care Settings: A Quasi-Experimental Pragmatic Study

Little is known about the prevalence of pressure ulcer (PrU) in acute care settings. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence rate of PrU in acute care settings and to assess the methodological quality of the reviewed publications. The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, British Nursing Index, MEDLINE, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched using the keywords pressure ulcer or decubitus ulcer or bed sore or pressure sore or pressure injury, with prevalence and acute care, for studies published between January 2000 and December 2015. Nineteen publications met our criteria. These reported a prevalence range of between 7.8% and 54% for those using European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel methodology, 6% and 22% for those using National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel methodology, and 4.94% for the study that employed the Torrance system. The likely worldwide PrU prevalence rate range in acute care settings is between 6% and 18.5%. Prevalence rate varies between studies depending on the methodology of data collection. Moreover, the methodological quality of the included studies in the review was variable; therefore, it was difficult to compare the prevalence rate between the studies, settings, and countries.

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Improving Patient Safety and Patient–Provider Communication

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups ◽

10.1044/2019_pers-sig12-2019-0021 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (5) ◽

pp. 1017-1027 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Richard R. Hurtig ◽

Rebecca M. Alper ◽

Karen N. T. Bryant ◽

Krista R. Davidson ◽

Chelsea Bilskemper

Keyword(s):

Acute Care ◽

Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽

Health Care Team ◽

Provider Communication ◽

Alternative Communication ◽

Patient Provider Communication ◽

Acute Care Settings ◽

Nurses Perceptions ◽

Communication Needs ◽

The Impact

Purpose Many hospitalized patients experience barriers to effective patient–provider communication that can negatively impact their care. These barriers include difficulty physically accessing the nurse call system, communicating about pain and other needs, or both. For many patients, these barriers are a result of their admitting condition and not of an underlying chronic disability. Speech-language pathologists have begun to address patients' short-term communication needs with an array of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) strategies. Method This study used a between-groups experimental design to evaluate the impact of providing patients with AAC systems so that they could summon help and communicate with their nurses. The study examined patients' and nurses' perceptions of the patients' ability to summon help and effectively communicate with caregivers. Results Patients who could summon their nurses and effectively communicate—with or without AAC—had significantly more favorable perceptions than those who could not. Conclusions This study suggests that AAC can be successfully used in acute care settings to help patients overcome access and communication barriers. Working with other members of the health care team is essential to building a “culture of communication” in acute care settings. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.9990962

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