Educational campaign to increase knowledge of pressure ulcers

• Published in: British journal of nursing (Mark Allen Publishing) Vol. 25; no. 12; p. S30
• Main Authors: Feng, Haixia, Li, Guohong, Xu, Cuirong, Ju, Changping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 23.06.2016
• Subjects: China; Education, Nursing, Continuing; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Incidence; Nursing Staff - education; Nursing Staff - psychology; Pressure Ulcer; Surveys and Questionnaires; Occurrence rate; Braden scale; Steering group; Pressure ulcer
• ISSN: 0966-0461
• DOI: 10.12968/bjon.2016.25.12.S30

A pressure ulcer (PU) steering group was set up in Zhongda Hospital in China to develop a campaign to increase knowledge of PUs, to improve management and reduce incidence. Questionnaires were completed by 275 nurses to ascertain their knowledge of PUs. The initial questionnaire indicated that the nurses had insufficient knowledge of PUs. The steering group then ran a campaign focusing on standardising the management of PUs. The measurement of PU knowledge for all nurses was tested after 2 years of training. After 2 years, the nursing staff's knowledge of PUs had improved. Usage of the Braden scale had risen from (60.0±22.9) to (88.0±9.0) and showed a statistically significant difference (p<0.01). Moreover, the rate for patients reported as being at high risk of developing a PU had increased from 0.98% in 2012 to 1.24% in 2013, while the occurrence rate of PUs in the hospital had decreased from 0.09% in 2012 to 0.05% in 2013. The campaign significantly enhanced the knowledge of PUs and improved the ability of nursing staff to evaluate PU risks, resulting in a decrease in the occurrence of PUs.