Patient participation to the prevention of pressure ulcers

Introduction: Pressure ulcers constitute a multidimensional and common public health concern affecting patients and health care systems worldwide. Preventing pressure ulcers is a priority for health care professionals, and patient adherence to prevention strategies remains a major clinical challenge. It is important to investigate the factors that affect patients’ability and desire to actively participate to the prevention of pressure ulcers, in order to adopt strategies to enhance this participation in daily clinical practice.

Aim: The investigation of patient participation to the prevention of pressure ulcers and the factors that affect this participation.

Material and Method: A literature review in the database PubMed was conducted in January 2020 with the keywords entered: «patient participation», «pressure injury prevention», «patient’s role», «pressure ulcer prevention», «pressure ulcer», «patient’s knowledge». The selection of the studies was based on specific eligibility criteria. Data extracted were analyzed and synthesized.

Results: A total of 17 studies met the inclusion criteria and included in this review. The majority of the studies had a quantitative research design. The analysis of the results showed that patient participation in the prevention of pressure ulcers is low and five key issues were described that affect patient participation in pressure ulcers prevention strategies. These are: the ability to manage pain, discomfort and pressure, the nurse-patient relationship, individual and care related factors, patients’ knowledge related to pressure ulcers and patient education.

Conclusions: Patient participation in the prevention of pressure ulcers is feasible even though limited. Moreover, factors that have an impact on this participation and sometimes act as barriers and sometimes as facilitators have also been identified. These findings could be used to encourage greater participation according to patient’s preferences and needs, while point out the need for changes in care organizations. Further research is needed to better understand the extent of patient participation to pressure ulcers prevention strategies and the factors that prevent or promote this participation.

Κατηγορία: Volume 61, Issue 3
Hits: 8196 Hits
Ημ/νία Δημιουργίας: 27-10-2022
Συγγραφείς: Michaela Zorba , Styliani Tziaferi , Kolovos Petros