Pressure ulcers in long-term care: a point prevalence study in Jordan

Pressure ulcers (PUs) are a common problem in the elderly long-term care population.

To explore the prevalence of PUs in Jordanian long-term care settings.

A cross-sectional survey.

Data in this study were collected with the European Pressure Ulcers Advisory Panel (EPUAP) minimum data set. The skin of residents was directly examined. Risk of PUs was assessed with the Braden scale. Information about prevention was obtained from staff and resident files.

The largest elderly long-term care facility in Jordan (124 residents) was surveyed. Six residents did not match the inclusion criteria, and 118 were actually examined.

Participants in this study were considerably younger when compared with similar studies (median age 65 years, mean 65.14, standard deviation 11.48). The general prevalence of PUs was 16.9%. The most common place for PUs was on the buttocks (42.9%). The most reported grades were 1 and 2, each of which had 40% prevalence. Of those patients at risk, 27.6% received adequate prevention for PUs.

Given that the residents in this study sample were quite young, prevalence of PUs was relatively high compared with similar studies that used the same methodology. Bearing in mind that most elderly patients in Jordan are looked after at home, on account of Jordanian cultural attitudes toward elderly people, it can be hypothesised that institutionalised elderly people are either very ill or do not receive the care they need at home. The greater frailty of the Jordanian patients in this study, evident in their higher PU risk scores and comorbidities, supports this hypothesis.