Pressure Ulcer In Health Care

Pressure ulcers are one of the most prevalent tissue injuries managed by health care professional’s institution wide and significantly contribute to increased hospital length of stay, morbidity, and mortality. A pressure ulcer is a localized injury to the skin and/or underlying tissue, generally over a bony prominence, as a result of reduced blood flow caused by persistent, uninterrupted pressure. Based on their severity, pressure ulcers are categorized as stage I to stage IV, deep tissue injury, or unstageable. The root causes of pressure ulcers are diverse and are influenced by various factors such as immobility, excessive moisture and dryness, urinary and bowel incontinence, friction and shear, and age. Based on the U.S. Agency for Healthcare …show more content…
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, repositioning patients could reduce the incidence and prevalence of pressure ulcers. Turning patients helps reduce the duration and magnitude of pressure on vulnerable body tissues thus helping reduce the occurrence of pressure ulcers. The Health Belief Model, which proposes that “health-seeking behavior is influenced by a person’s perception of a threat posed by a health problem and the value associated with actions aimed at reducing the threat” (Polit & Beck, 2012), can serve as a framework in order to better understand this topic. If a health care professional holds the belief that turning a patient will reduce pressure ulcers, they are more likely to implement the appropriate interventions that they believe will decrease the prevalence and incidence of pressure …show more content…
Pressure ulcers have become an epidemic among bed bound patient populations with a reported prevalence as high as 26% among hospitalized patients, 39% among patients who have spinal cord injuries, and 43% among those living in nursing homes (). The presence and development of pressure ulcers increases hospital length of stay on average by 10.8 days, results in $48,000 in hospital charges per pressure ulcer, and millions of dollars in malpractice suits (). The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have declared that pressure ulcers are preventable and costly medical errors and do not reimburse hospitals for their development. Determining which pressure ulcers are preventable within the healthcare environment remains unclear. Although pressure ulcer development may be inevitable, a number of techniques and strategies have been proposed in order to decrease their development. Strategies that have been shown to be effective in pressure ulcer reduction include implementing a standard protocol of care, the use of low-pressure mattresses, and repositioning patients every two hours. Following these interventions has led to reduction in pressure ulcers in multiple health care

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