Assessing Knowledge Among Endoscopy Nurses With Implementation of a Skin Tear Prevention Intervention

Endoscopy patients ≥65 years old who often present with risk factors for skin tears, e.g., advanced age, chronic health issues, limited mobility, and compromised integumentary, were the focus of a skin tear prevention intervention. This evidence-based quality improvement project and feasibility study with a pre/post-timed series survey design had three main goals: to design and implement an evidence-based skin tear prevention protocol for endoscopy, evaluate this protocol for usability and effectiveness, and assess endoscopy nurses' skin tear prevention knowledge. A multidisciplinary approach was taken to identify evidence-based skin tear prevention measures appropriate for the endoscopy setting. A feasibility study was used to measure nursing knowledge on skin tear prevention in endoscopy and nurse satisfaction with the skin tear prevention protocol. A pre/post survey was used to measure nursing knowledge at baseline, one month, and three months post-protocol implementation. Over the 3-month study, 537 endoscopy patients ≥65 years old were identified to be at risk for skin tears. Endoscopy nurses implemented 911 skin tear prevention nursing interventions. This project demonstrated an 88% gain in nursing knowledge and a 66% skin tear reduction in endoscopy. The findings provide an optimistic outlook for skin tear prevention in endoscopy settings.