Date of Award
Fall 12-11-2024
Degree Name
Masters of Science in Nursing
Department
WellStar School of Nursing
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Dr. Nancy Ballard
Abstract
Abstract
Background: The incidence of Hospital acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) have remained a problem in healthcare despite concerted efforts by hospitals and other governmental agencies to eliminate the problem via policy and emphasis on safety. There is support in literature for the training of healthcare professionals as an important tool in the prevention and management of HAPIs. Despite the existence of studies that link training of nurses to a reduction in rates of HAPIs, evidence in support of that is still piecemeal; with poorly defined outcomes.
Aims and objectives: The aim of this integrative review is to identify and summarize evidence from available literature on the impact of education and other specialized training for nursing staff on the recognition of risk and prevention of HAPIs with the objective of spurring further research in the subject matter.
Method: The PRISMA guidelines and the five-step methodology by Whittemore & Knafl (2005) was used in the performance of this review to identify and present literature to address the research question. A comprehensive search of the following electronic data bases: PubMed, OVID, EBSCO(CINAHL) were conducted to identify relevant articles published between 2002 and 2023. A total of 215 articles were identified from the systemic literature search. Out of this a total of 10 studies that met the inclusion criteria were chosen to be included in the review.
Findings: The major thematic findings from the review were that educational interventions and training improved nurses’ knowledge about HAPIs and the presence of specialized employees like wound care nurses was associated with overall decrease in rates of HAPI. The improvement in knowledge was observed even where nurses had prior knowledge about HAPI prevention. Different educational formats were equally effective in improving knowledge about HAPIs. Frequent and regular educational interventions were found to be more effective than one-time interventions in improving knowledge. Although all ten articles reviewed found an improvement in nurses’ knowledge about HAPIs after educational intervention and training, not all could support a direct correlation between the educational interventions and decreased incidence of HAPIs.
Conclusion: This review indicates that while there is evidence that education and specialized training improved nurses’ knowledge about HAPIs, this improvement in knowledge does not always correlate to a decrease in HAPIs rates. There is a shortage of studies with strong evidence that links education of nurses to reduction in HAPIs. Future studies and research should focus on providing statistical and verifiable evidence on the effectiveness of education of nurses on HAPIs and reduction in the incidence of HAPIs.
Key terms: Hospital-Acquired Pressure injury, Hospital-Acquired Pressure ulcer, Pressure injury prevention, Pressure injury reduction, nurse training, nurse education, nurse specialists.
Included in
Critical Care Nursing Commons, Geriatric Nursing Commons, Nursing Administration Commons, Other Nursing Commons