healthy skin program pressure ulcers

BACKGROUND: In 2013, an observational survey was conducted among 242 in-patients in a community hospital with a pressure ulcer (PU) prevalence of 34.3%. An evidence-based pressure ulcer prevention program (PUPP) was then implemented including a staff awareness campaign entitled "Healthy Skin Wins" with an online tutorial about PU prevention. AIMS: To determine the effectiveness of the PUPP in reducing the prevalence of PUs, to determine the effectiveness of the online tutorial in increasing hospital staff's knowledge level about PU prevention, and to explore frontline staff's perspectives of the PUPP...

Background  The 2001 Australian census revealed that adults aged 65 years and over constituted 12.6% of the population, up from 12.1% in 1996. It is projected that this figure will rise to 21% or 5.1 million Australians by 2031. In 1998, 6% (134 000) of adults in Australia aged 65 years and over were residing in nursing homes or hostels and this number is also expected to rise. As skin ages, there is a decreased turnover and replacement of epidermal skin cells, a thinning subcutaneous fat layer and a reduced production of protective oils...

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OBJECTIVES: To investigate the pathogenesis of pressure ulcers utilizing high-resolution ultrasound and to explore the utility of this technology for the detection of incipient pressure ulcers prior to visual clinical signs. DESIGN: An observational prospective study comparing high-resolution ultrasound images obtained from 119 long-term-care facility residents determined to be at risk for pressure ulcer development (Braden Scale score of 18 or less) with images obtained from 15 healthy volunteers (medical students and medical residents)...

Becaplermine gel (Regranex) is an hydrogel which contains 100 microg of Platelet Derived Growth Factor-BB (rhPDGF-BB) per gram. Regranex is presented in 15-gram multidose tubes. It has been approved as adjuvant treatment for neuropathic diabetic ulcerations of less than 5 cm2, extending into the subcutaneous tIssue, in the absence of ischemia, in conjunction with a standardised program of appropriate wound care, (control of infection, sharp debridement, provision of a moist environment and avoidance of pressure on the wound)...

Skin recently has attained a status of importance among vital organs. Consumers, insurance companies, legislators, and regulatory agencies expect that skin health will be maintained, improved, or restored. As health care providers cut costs in response to new payment systems, interventions for skin and wound care must be evidence-based and cost-effective. A comprehensive healthy skin program, guided by the Center for Advanced Nursing Practice's Evidence-Based Practice Model, was designed and implemented by a skin wound ostomy continence nurse coordinator with successful outcomes, including expansion of the program into diverse settings throughout the community...

Few conditions offer a better opportunity for nurses to have a dramatic and visible impact on quality care than skin care. Nursing interventions targeted to prevent pressure ulcers and their painful, costly complications are an expected standard of care in all care settings. Preventing pressure ulcers may be most important in the acute care setting, where previously healthy elders with acute illness, immobility, impaired appetite, and new-onset incontinence may suddenly and unexpectedly develop pressure ulcers...