Date of Award
Summer 2020
Document Type
Final DNP Paper
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Department
Nursing
Faculty Chair
Dr. Serena Gramling
Abstract
The purpose of this project is to assess and improve nurses’ knowledge of pressure injuries and pressure injury preventions using evidence-based guidelines and a southeastern United States hospital’s skin integrity policy. My population of focus is direct care professional nurses caring for adults and geriatric patients in the acute care setting.
Design and Methods: The DNP student’s project is a quality improvement project using a Quasi-experimental design, which includes using a pre-test (Appendix A) and post-test (Appendex B). FADE (Appendix C) is the quality improvement method chosen for this project. FADE (Appendix C) is an acronym representing focus, analyze, develop, execute/evaluate.
Results: A paired t-test was run to determine if there were differences in pre-test (Appendix A) and post-test (Appendix B) scores. Pre-test (Appendix A) scores (M=89.96, SD=13.53) were lower than post-test (Appendix B) scores (M=99.2, SD=1.89), a statistically significant difference, M=7.46, 95% CI [5.34, 9.60]; t(49)=7.06, p=0.05.
Conclusion: Educating nurses in acute care on pressure injuries, staging, and prevention increases their knowledge. The nurses completed pre-tests (Appendix A), received education, and completed post-tests (Appendix B). There was a noticeable increase in the post-test scores following the educational session. The pre-test (Appendix A) mean score 91.76 and the post-test (Appendix B) mean score was 99.22. There was a 7.46 percent increase in the scores after the staff was educated.
Implications for Nursing: The acute care nurses are aware of the updated definition for pressure injury, the changes in pressure injury stages and terminology. They are knowledgeable of the risk factors for pressure injuries and preventive measures.
Recommended Citation
Lawery, LaTonya, "Protecting the Integument: Changing Nursing Practice to Prevent Pressure Injuries" (2020). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 6.
https://digitalcommons.jsu.edu/etds_nursing/6