Education of healthcare professionals for preventing pressure ulcers

Abstract

Background Pressure ulcers, also known as bed sores or pressure sores, are localised areas of tissue damage arising due to excess pressure and shearing forces. Education of healthcare staff has been recognised as an integral component of pressure ulcer prevention. These educational programmes are directed towards influencing behaviour change on the part of the healthcare professional, to encourage preventative practices with the aim of reducing the incidence of pressure ulcer development. Objectives To assess the effects of educational interventions for healthcare professionals on pressure ulcer prevention. Search methods In June 2017 we searched the Cochrane Wounds Specialised Register; the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL); Ovid MEDLINE (including In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations); Ovid Embase and EBSCO CINAHL Plus. We also searched clinical trials registries for ongoing and unpublished studies, and scanned reference lists of relevant included studies as well as reviews, meta-analyses and health technology reports to identify additional studies. There were no restrictions with respect to language, date of publication or study setting. Selection criteria We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and cluster-RCTs, that evaluated the effect of any educational intervention delivered to healthcare staff in any setting to prevent pressure ulceration. Data collection and analysis Two review authors independently assessed titles and abstracts of the studies identified by the search strategy for eligibility. We obtained full versions of potentially relevant studies and two authors independently screened these against the inclusion criteria.

Effectiveness on hospital‐acquired pressure ulcers prevention: a systematic review

“…Two studies show that education of health care staff on PU prevention can be effective in reducing the incidence of PUs in ICU setting . Education of health care professionals is a recognised element of PU prevention guidelines and also influences behaviour change to encourage preventative practices with the aim of reducing the incidence of PU development . However, a recent systematic review shows that there are some issues related to education of health care professionals influencing PU incidence or knowledge of nurses .…”

“…Education of health care professionals is a recognised element of PU prevention guidelines and also influences behaviour change to encourage preventative practices with the aim of reducing the incidence of PU development . However, a recent systematic review shows that there are some issues related to education of health care professionals influencing PU incidence or knowledge of nurses . Those studies provided very low‐certainty evidence .…”

“…However, a recent systematic review shows that there are some issues related to education of health care professionals influencing PU incidence or knowledge of nurses . Those studies provided very low‐certainty evidence . Therefore, the impact of education of health care professionals on PU prevention still needs clarification.…”

Evaluation of a formal care worker educational intervention on pressure ulceration in the community

“…, Porter‐Armstrong et al . ), there is little evidence from community care settings. Given that increasing number of patients with complex needs are being cared for in the community, earlier identification is essential if the risk of pressure ulcer damage to this group of patients is to be significantly reduced (Coleman et al .…”

Interventions for pressure ulcers: a summary of evidence for prevention and treatment

“…A number of additional systematic reviews have been registered with the Cochrane Wounds Editorial Base, the protocols for which are currently in the process of being developed, or the reviews themselves undertaken [79][80][81][82][83][84][85] ( Table 3). In addition to these, protocols for other (non-Cochrane) systematic reviews have recently been published, which look specifically at interventions for PUs in people with SCI (e.g., self-management interventions to improve skin care for PU prevention [86]).…”