Educating Certified Nursing Assistants to Communicate Skin Changes to Reduce Pressure Injuries.

Area of Science:

• Gerontological Nursing
• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Pressure injuries (PIs) represent a significant challenge in long-term care (LTC) settings, leading to increased morbidity and healthcare costs.
• Effective PI surveillance requires timely identification and reporting of early skin changes by frontline staff.
• Certified nursing assistants (CNAs) are pivotal in resident care and can play a crucial role in PI prevention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a targeted educational intervention on CNAs' knowledge and skills in PI surveillance.
• To assess the effectiveness of a communication guide in promoting early reporting of skin changes.
• To measure the effect of enhanced CNA surveillance on PI incidence in an LTC facility.

Main Methods:

• A pre-/post-intervention study design was employed with 24 CNAs.
• A communication guide focusing on Skin, Cleanliness, Activity, and Nutrition (SCAN) was implemented.
• PI incidence was monitored over a 6-week period.

Main Results:

• CNAs showed significant improvements in PI surveillance knowledge, reporting comfort, skin care practices, and nutritional awareness.
• The baseline PI incidence of 9.6% decreased to 0% by week 3.
• No new pressure injuries were recorded during the 6-week study period.

Conclusions:

• Educating and empowering CNAs in PI surveillance is an effective strategy to reduce PI incidence in LTC.
• CNAs' enhanced role awareness and improved communication skills were instrumental in a multidisciplinary approach to PI prevention.
• The SCAN communication guide facilitated prompt reporting and contributed to a significant decrease in pressure injuries.