“Prevention and Staging of Pressure Ulcers: Clinical Nurses' Knowledge in the Community Hospital Setting”

Title: “Prevention and Staging of Pressure Ulcers: Clinical Nurses’ Knowledge in the Community Hospital Setting”

Purpose:Pressure ulcers have been a healthcare concern for centuries.  Through implementation of evidence-based practices of pressure ulcer prevention and staging, clinical nurses identify and implement nursing care to improve patient outcomes (Barker et al., 2012).  Therefore, clinical nurses’ knowledge of pressure ulcer prevention is paramount. The primary purpose of this research study is to assess clinical nurses’ knowledge of pressure ulcer prevention and staging. 

Methods: A descriptive design was used to assess knowledge of pressure ulcer prevention and staging in a convenience sample of registered nurses, who work in direct patient care in a community hospital.  A web-based survey with prevention and staging questions from the Pieper-Zulkowski Pressure Ulcer Knowledge Test (PUKT) was completed.  Data from the survey was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results/Outcomes: 

Fifty registered nurses participated in this study. The participants’ total score ranged from 23.68% to 89.47% with median score being 76.32%. The overall Cronbach’s alpha was 0.73 for prevention and staging questions. Statistical analysis findings suggest no relationships between years of practice and PUKT scores; however, there was a significant correlation between total score and length of time since last pressure ulcer education (p = 0.0021). The study results reveal that as length of time since last pressure ulcer continuing education increases, PUKT score decreases, thus currency of continuing education influences knowledge of pressure ulcer prevention and staging.

Implications: 

Test scores in this research study are comparable to findings of similar studies (Zulkowski et al., 2010 & Smith et al., 2009). Results also suggest that clinical nurses’ knowledge of pressure ulcer prevention and staging is correlated to currency of continuing education.  These findings support the need for ongoing nursing continuing education regarding pressure ulcer prevention and staging.