Developing the Baptist Health Injury Risk Assessment Phase 1: Exploring Risk Factors.

Area of Science:

• Critical care nursing
• Patient safety research
• Quality improvement in healthcare

Background:

• Hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) are a significant concern for healthcare quality, particularly in Magnet® recognized facilities.
• Emerging evidence highlights medical devices as a leading cause of HAPIs.
• Existing risk assessment tools often overlook the contribution of medical devices to HAPI development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify risk factors associated with hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) in critically ill adult inpatients.
• To explore the role of medical devices and mobility-limiting equipment in HAPI development.
• To inform the development of a more comprehensive HAPI risk assessment tool.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective chart review was conducted across nine American Nurses Credentialing Center-designated facilities.
• Data were collected by nurses within 48 hours of a confirmed HAPI diagnosis.
• The study involved a sample of 207 reported HAPIs in critically ill adult inpatients.

Main Results:

• Over half of reported HAPIs (54%) were deep tissue pressure injuries.
• Medical devices were implicated in 50.2% of HAPIs, involving 19 distinct devices.
• Patients with HAPIs frequently utilized mobility-limiting medical equipment (1 or more of 7 types).

Conclusions:

• Findings support the integration of medical device use and mobility-limiting equipment into critical care risk assessments for HAPIs.
• This study provides a foundation for developing a novel risk assessment tool.
• Further research is planned for specificity and sensitivity testing of the proposed assessment.