Competent Patient Refusal of Nursing Care: An Innovative Approach to a Complex Problem

Pressure injury development results in significant morbidity and costs. Despite well-defined guidelines, nurses are frequently faced with subtle and overt patient resistance when implementing prevention strategies. Case law and hospital policies guide decision making when confronted with refusal of medical care; however, there are limited recommendations that guide competent patient refusal of nursing care. This article presents findings of an integrative literature review and idea-generating forum about competent patient refusal of nursing care. Emerging topics from the literature review were mirrored in responses generated during the innovation forum; responses from the forum confirmed the clinical relevance of the issue and the lack of resources to guide care in this area for approach.