Feature Articles
An evidence based approach to a perennial problem: Pressure ulcers
Barbara Newman
Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Nursing, Department of Family and Community Nursing, University of Sydney, Camperdown, Sydney NSW
Fui Ping Lim
Clinical Nurse Specialist, Wound/Stoma Management, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore
PP: 102
Abstract
The nursing care required to prevent the development of pressure ulcers on patients of various ages and with a range of physical and medical problems is an increasing challenge for nursing staff. The challenge for the nursing staff is multifactorial. Concerns include a complexity of factors associated with discerning, interpreting and implementing the results from evidence based studies, and maintaining cognisance of the ever-spiralling health cost while balancing this with the patient's wishes.
The prevention of pressure ulcers is a cost-effective strategy about which little is written. This paper defines pressure ulcers using the International Classification for Nursing Practice (International Council of Nurses, 1999), and outlines the evidence featured in the research literature on the strategies for prevention.
Keywords
pressure ulcer, nursing, evidence based practice, nursing care, strategies
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