Date of Conferral
2019
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
School
Health Services
Advisor
Carolyn S Sipes
Abstract
Over 60,000 hospital patients die each year from complications associated with hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs). Pressure-injury rates have increased by 2% within the past decade as life expectancy has also increased due to high cost in Medicare. Evidence shows that the incidence of pressure injuries (PIs) in healthcare facilities is increasing, with high rates of occurrence in intensive care units (ICUs). At the clinical site for which this project was developed, multiple in-services had been provided to staff regarding PIs, but uncertainty persisted about how knowledgeable the nurses were. This project, using the Academic Center for Evidence Star Model of Knowledge Transformation improved the nurses' knowledge and their practice related to PI prevention in the ICU, as well as to translate evidence into nursing practice. A literature review was conducted on PI prevention to inform the project. The project provided an educational program for intensive care nurses on PI prevention and determined, based on participants' pre- and posttest responses, that nurses' knowledge improved as a result of participation. This project, involving 55 nurses, includes information on the Pieper-Zulkowski Pressure Ulcer Knowledge Test (PZ-PUKT) measuring pressure knowledge which resulted in an 85% improvement on injury prevention, 76% in wound description, as well as, 62% in the Braden Scale. Improvements in knowledge and practice resulting from nurses' participation in an evidence-based education session on PI prevention may bring positive social change to the organization at which this project was conducted.
Recommended Citation
Jacob, Yanick, "Nursing Knowledge on Pressure Injury Prevention in the Intensive Care Unit" (2019). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 7810.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7810
