Pressure Ulcer Prevention and Treatment in Hospices: A Qualitative Analysis

There has been little research into pressure ulcer prevention and treatment in hospices. In this study, interviews with hospice directors of clinical services and direct-care nurses were analyzed using qualitative methods. Several general themes were found. Both pressure ulcer prevention and treatment can be painful to hospice patients. Comfort may supersede prevention and wound care when patients are actively dying or have conditions causing them to have a single position of comfort. Family caregivers must face additional burdens when a pressure ulcer develops. In conclusion, hospice providers, patients, and family caregivers together must balance patient comfort with pressure ulcer prevention and treatment, which often leads to decisions to accept death with a pressure ulcer. Future studies should clarify how these parties can best work together, especially to identify when prevention or treatment has become futile.