Pressure Ulcer Prevention: The Nurses Attitude Towards Skin Care Pressure ulcers continue to be a concern among healthcare providers and patients, especially patients who have had recent surgeries, health issues, or are currently in long term care facilities. Pressure ulcers can have long term effects on patients and staff which can include lawsuits. This article discusses a possible link between the attitude or values of nurses and skin care to determine if nurses with a high skincare value have a decreased occurrence of pressure ulcers.Few studies have been focused on the value that nurses place on pressure ulcer prevention, even though values are a key determinant of a person’s behavior and actions. Previous studies have reported that the value that a nurse places on pressure ulcer prevention is linked to the skin care that they deliver (Samuriwo, 2010). Back ground of study This problem is currently being studied because pressure ulcers can be prevented with good skincare techniques and increased education of nurses.
Understanding the value that nurses place on pressure ulcer prevention provides and insight in to their behavior, attitude, and actions with regards to skin care (Samuriwo, 2010). If nurses realize the significance of appropriate skincare then pressure ulcers can become a thing of the past. Decreasing the incidence of pressure ulcers can be significant to the nursing field and the healthcare industry. Fewer pressure ulcers can save time and money for the healthcare industry while patients will have shorter recovery periods, decreased hospital stays, and less pain associated with pressure ulcers.Skin care education is a must if nurses and other healthcare providers are to comprehend the significance of skin care in the war against pressure sores. The general purpose of this test is to determine if the value nurses place on skincare and pressure ulcer prevention can decrease the incidence of pressure ulcers.
The researcher is trying to determine the answer to the following question: What value do nurses place on pressure ulcer prevention (Samuriwo, 2010)The researcher is trying to conclude if nurses with a higher value on skincare have fewer patients with pressure ulcers, whether the nurses’ value on pressure ulcer prevention is truly a concern. Method of study This article describes a qualitative study to determine the value that nurses place on pressure ulcer prevention, which identified the process by which nurses went from having a low to a high value of pressure ulcer prevention (Samuriwo, 2010).During this study, the qualitative method was used because the researcher is studying the “nurse’s values” which cannot be truly measured throughout the research. According to Samuriwo (2010), the indirect measure would be the best way to obtain information from the nurses, another words, letting the nurses’ talk about their experience with pressure ulcers would elicit their values because the term value can mean different things to different people.Questioning the nurses in the indirect method also decreases the risk of leading or causing bias in the nurses answers to questions because the nurses have no way of knowing what the researcher is analyzing. The data was collected in a two-stage process and the sixteen participants, ranging from second-year nursing students to senior nurse managers, were recruited from fourteen hospitals of various sizes which were in different locations (Samuriwo, 2010).
As in most qualitative studies, the sample does not represent the general population.During the data collection (interviews), the data obtained was analyzed with the Straussian grounded theory. The following are the stages of data analysis using this theory: 1. Simultaneous data collection and analysis (constant comparison) 2.
A three-step coding process using a coding paradigm a. Open coding b. Axial coding c. Selective coding 3. Comparative methods 4.
Memo writing to aid conceptual analysis construction 5. Sampling to refine the emergent theoretical ideas 6. Integration of the theoretical framework (Samuriwo, 2010). Results of studyWhile questioning the nurses, it became apparent that nurses who had dealt with patients who had pressure ulcers had a higher value for skin care and prevention of pressure ulcers than those who had not provided care to a patient with a pressure ulcer.
However, the transition that is described by the participants fits in with what is knows about the manner in which values are formed. Value studies have shown that values are primarily established through personal experiences, even though they are influenced by social and cultural factor (Samuriwo, 2010).Many of the nurses complained of a lack of understanding and education of pressure ulcer prevention up until they had a patient with a pressure ulcer. The study shows that more in-depth education concerning pressure ulcer prevention would increase the value placed on skin care and prevention. All participants stated that the first time that they observed a pressure ulcer, they were shocked and realized that they knew very little about pressure ulcers or how to prevent them (Samuriwo, 2010).
According to this study, prevention comes more from clinical experience rather than schooling. Nursing experience in crucial in creating nurses with higher values and concern for skin care. This new found information can have a great impact on preventing pressure ulcers in the future which can affect all areas of nursing practice. Ethical Considerations The study was double blind peer reviewed; editorial board reviewed in Europe and expert peer reviewed and nursing peer reviewed in the UK and Ireland and was published by the British Journal of Nursing.Throughout this study, patient privacy was protected.
The patient’s names were not used and no specific information could be tied to any one patient. Ethically, the nurses performed treatments and patient care to the best of their ability but understanding of how serious skin care is for the patient was not completely understood until the nurse had dealt with a patient who had a pressure ulcer, even when all the nurses had been educated on skin care and pressure ulcer prevention.In conclusion, nurses not only need in depth education about skin care and pressure ulcer prevention, but they also need experience. Nurses should be exposed to pressure ulcers earlier in their career to make sure they place a higher value on skin care, know the warning signs of skin break down and/or pressure ulcers, and provide the best treatment for the patient in a timely manner.
