Impact of a Pressure Ulcers Instructional Program on Nurses' Performance and Patient Outcomes

Abstract

Background: Pressure ulcers (PU) are still a big problem in intensive care units. Nurses play a crucial role in its prevention and management. The goal of this study was to assess impact of a pressure ulcer instructional program on nurses' performance and patient outcomes. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used. The research was carried out at a Hospital in Damietta city. Subjects: The study included 51 nurses and 80 patients assigned to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) unit. Instrument: There was structured interview sheet for nurses. It consisted of two parts: general characteristics, their understanding of pressure ulcers, observational checklist, patients' profile records, patients' outcomes, and the Braden Scale. Results: The study revealed that nurses' knowledge and practices significantly improved towards pressure ulcers post program implementation when compared to preprogram (with P value less than 0.05). Moreover, there was a significant improvement in pressure ulcer healing (outcome) among study group compared with control group who received routine care before the program (with P value less than 0.05). Conclusion: From the study it was concluded that the educational programme is very helpful in enhancing knowledge and practice for nurses in intensive care units, as well as patient outcomes. Recommendation: More study should be done to evaluate the routine use and regular updating of pressure ulcer risk assessment sheets, as well as ongoing nurse education on PUs prevention.