The impact of the Shanley Pressure Ulcer Prevention Programme on older persons' knowledge of, and attitudes and behaviours towards, pressure ulcer prevention

Abstract

Pressure ulcers (PUs) have a profound impact on individuals, with studies demonstrating that compared with similarly aged persons, those living with a PU have a significantly lower quality of life. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of the Shanley Pressure Ulcer Prevention Programme (SPUPP) on older persons' knowledge of, and attitudes and behaviours towards, PU prevention. This was a multi-centre, open-label, randomised controlled trial. The population of interest was older persons living in the community who attended either a day care centre or a retirement group and were deemed to be at risk of PUs due to reduced mobility. Stratified random sampling was used to randomise based on days of attendance at day care centre/retirement group. Pretest and post-test were applied to the intervention and control groups. The SPUPP is a multimedia programmeThe Shanley Pressure Ulcer Prevention Programme (SPUPP) impacted positively on knowledge scores of the participants and positively influenced attitudes and behaviours towards pressure ulcer prevention

Patient perceptions and understanding of pressure ulcer risk in the community: Empirical Research Qualitative

“…This finding is important in consideration of how health literacy challenges such as visual difficulties and fatigue affect patient uptake of health information and is well documented in other areas of healthcare practice, particularly literacy and older adults (Chesser, Woods, Smothers & Rogers, 2016). Some of these health literacy challenges for patients around use of leaflets and hence poor uptake of information leaflets link to previous studies (Durrant et al 2018; Shanley et al 2021). It is common practice that patient information leaflets are used by nurses as a means of both educating patients about their condition and to encourage participation in preventative measures (Fletcher, 2020).…”

“…These findings therefore reveal the importance of the influence of others, such as family and friends and lay health beliefs on the interpretation of PU risk. This also highlights the importance of the wider context for how health-related information is communicated to patients, particularly cultural considerations in knowledge translation, identified in other studies (Shanley et al 2021). There were also interesting findings in relation to selfefficacy and control, with some participants reporting confidence in what they needed to do and asserting their lay 'expertise' within decision making, whilst others took a more passive role.…”

“…The review revealed some key considerations regarding use of educational materials, including the importance of active patient involvement within the decision‐making process itself. The importance of patient involvement has also been evidenced in other healthcare disciplines where shared decisions were more likely to increase motivation and resulting patient adherence, alongside an established patient–nurse relationship built on trust (Shanley et al 2021).…”

“…Indeed, this study revealed that despite having access to leaflets, participants had a limited understanding of PU causation and risk. A more recent study that evaluated a PU prevention intervention including a leaflet for older people in the community revealed that whilst knowledge and skills improved within the intervention group, health beliefs around lifestyle measures remained similar between the control and intervention groups (Shanley et al 2021). This suggests that whilst consideration of aspects such as format, style and language is important in educational materials, there are likely to be additional factors involved.…”

A Single Subject, Feasibility Study of Using a Non-Contact Measurement to “Visualize” Temperature at Body-Seat Interface

“…Skin ulcer formation is very complicated. However, unobserved thermal accumulation at the body-seat interface has a strong bearing on skin tissue integrity [ 4 , 5 , 6 ], by increasing metabolic demand at a time when there is a decreased blood supply due to tissue compression [ 7 , 8 ]. As a result of the above, friction and shear force are more prone to cause tissue damage, eventually resulting in a breach in the integrity of the skin (ulceration) [ 9 , 10 ].…”