Module 2 Assignment

As you prepare the first chapter of the study, clearly state what the purpose of the project is and explain the project’s significance. The significance is addressed by discussing how the project adds to nursing’s body of knowledge in the field and the project’s practical significance for communication among professionals in the field. Without a clearly defined introduction, purpose and strong theoretical grounding, the project is fundamentally flawed from the outset.
This chapter will be 4 pages (1,000 words) in length and should include at least 5 scholarly sources.

Expert Answer and Explanation

Introduction and Purpose

This capstone project is focused on pressure ulcers among geriatric patients. This is a pertinent issue that affects the health outcomes and well-being of affected patients as will be discussed based on available evidence. This chapter will cover three major areas which include the background of the study, where the preliminary factors and evidence that inform this study will be discussed. The chapter will also focus on the significance of the project indicating what the capstone is focused on and the existing need that led to the choice of the topic. The benefits of the capstone will also be discussed in this section. Lastly, the chapter will also elaborate further on the purpose statement, presenting clarity to readers on what the project is all about including the beneficiaries of the project.

Background

Pressure ulcers, also known as bedsores, are one of the conditions that cause poor outcomes in patients in different settings yet are preventable if timely measures are taken. The condition occurs when localized pressure is applied to one part of the body over an extended period of time (McGraw, 2019). The application of pressure coupled with some friction and worsened by the presence of moisture or wet beddings, which causes the skin to wear off, tear and cause an increasingly bigger wound that affects underlying tissues including the muscles, and in worse cases, it can reach the bone tissue causing osteomyelitis, at such a point the wound has already become ulcerative (Bhattacharya & Mishra, 2015). However, this can be prevented by implementing timely interventions. The ulcer usually occurs over a bony prominence, for example, sacrum, heels, and lateral malleoli, to list a few.

Some of the at-risk population groups noted with respect to pressure ulcers include the older population, those with lower body mass index, the malnourished, and those with impaired mobility (Bhattacharya & Mishra, 2015). In simple terms, pressure ulcers can be termed as a condition caused by immobility and worsened by other underlying factors; immobility, in this case, can be due to mental or physical conditions which make the patient to be confined in a stationary position (either in bed or chair) for extended periods (Bhattacharya & Mishra, 2015). Some of the fore-mentioned underlying health conditions that exacerbate pressure sores include conditions that impair blood supply for example type 2 diabetes, or conditions associated with malnutrition. Another element is age, given that mobility reduces with age increasing the risk of pressure sores as detailed in the prevalence statistics by Arizona Center on Aging (2015).

Why are pressure ulcers an issue of interest? According to a paper by Mervis and Phillips (2019), pressure ulcers affect over 3 million adults annually in the US alone despite being highly preventable. In addition, despite the concerted efforts to deal with the issue the trends have basically remained unchanged. The prevalence of pressure ulcers has a significant impact on the cost of care, for example, the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality reports that patients in most cases end up paying between $20,900 to $151,700 to deal with pressure ulcers (AHRQ, n.d.). Pressure ulcers also contribute to longer hospitalization periods, cause physical and psychological burden to the patients

There are various treatment options that care providers can use to help improve or prevent pressure ulcers for patients in different care settings. For example, one of the options is to use optimized dressings such as foam dressing as researched by Walker et al. (2017). Other options include debridement, the use of antibiotics, frequent repositioning of the patient, use of specialized beddings such as static air mattresses as evidenced by Beckman et al. (2019), to list a few. However, against all the listed interventions, the incidents of pressure ulcers have remained more or less unchanged as noted by Mervis and Phillips (2019). That is why, this paper aims to focus on nurse knowledge of the listed risk factors, interventions, and applications in the prevention of pressure ulcers.

This capstone will focus on older patients who have the highest prevalence of getting pressure ulcers compared to other population groups as per the report by the Arizona Center on Aging (2015). The cases of pressure ulcers are reported in various settings, including hospital settings, which record a prevalence of 32% occurrence of pressure ulcers among admitted patients, and in nursing home residencies which report about 22% of the cases.

Significance

The purpose of this project is to explore the effects of educating nurses about pressure ulcers prevention strategies in reducing pressure ulcers incidents among geriatric patients. From the background of the study, pressure ulcers can be identified as a significant menace that contributes to poor patient outcomes, with the potential for fatalities if not managed early enough, increases the cost of care, and may also extend the period of hospitalization, yet it is a problem that can be prevented (Bhattacharya & Mishra, 2015). The statistics presented by Mervis and Phillips (2019) show a stagnated trajectory regarding efforts to deal with pressure ulcers in various care settings which could be faulted to ineffective implementation (Grešš Halász et al., 2021). As such an alternative approach which is to educate nurses on strategies to prevent pressure ulcers is eminent to improve the outcomes of older patients who have the highest risk of getting pressure ulcers (Arizona Center on Aging, 2015).

The beneficiaries of the project completion include the older patients, with decreased mobility, who have the highest risk of getting pressure ulcers (Arizona Center on Aging, 2015). By preventing pressure ulcers, not only will the patients have less physical, psychological, and financial burden to bear as a result of pressure ulcers. Nursing staff will also benefit from this project, in terms of both motivation resulting in better patient outcomes, but also reduced amount of workload resulting from tending to pressure ulcers.

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to identify the effects of educating nurses about pressure ulcers prevention strategies in reducing pressure ulcers incidents among geriatric patients. By educating nurses on the risk factors and the evidence-based interventions for preventing pressure ulcers, it is expected that the incidents of pressure ulcers will reduce significantly.

Conclusion

In this chapter, it is evident that pressure ulcers, while highly preventable still pose a significant challenge to the health outcomes of geriatric patients. This capstone project is purposed at introducing an education intervention to assist nurses to improve on strategies to help present this menace. The next section of the paper will give a thorough review of existing literature on the issue, including some of the possible interventions based on available evidence to act as the foundation for this project.

References

Beeckman, D., Serraes, B., Anrys, C., Van Tiggelen, H., Van Hecke, A., & Verhaeghe, S. (2019). A multicenter prospective randomized controlled clinical trial comparing the effectiveness and cost of a static air mattress and alternating air pressure mattress to prevent pressure ulcers in nursing home residents. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 97, 105-113.

Bhattacharya, S., & Mishra, R. K. (2015). Pressure ulcers: Current understanding and newer modalities of treatment. Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery: official publication of the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India, 48(1), 4–16. https://doi.org/10.4103/0970-0358.155260

Grešš Halász, B., Bérešová, A., Tkáčová, Ľ., Magurová, D., & Lizáková, Ľ. (2021). Nurses’ Knowledge and Attitudes towards Prevention of Pressure Ulcers. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(4), 1705. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041705

Mervis, J. S., & Phillips, T. J. (2019). Pressure ulcers: Pathophysiology, epidemiology, risk factors, and presentation. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 81(4), 881-890. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2018.12.069

Walker, R. M., Gillespie, B. M., Thalib, L., Higgins, N. S., & Whitty, J. A. (2017). Foam dressings for treating pressure ulcers. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 10(10), CD011332. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD011332.pub2

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