Selection and use of pressure ulcer risk-assessment tools and treatment protocols in extended-care facilities in the...

The purpose of this study was to investigate pressure ulcer treatment protocol selection and use by care providers in extended health care facilities.

Descriptive survey.

The target population was directors of extended health care facilities in the southwestern border region of Arizona, New Mexico, and west Texas.

Questionnaires were mailed to 427 directors of extended-care facilities, who were asked to self-report treatment selection methods. The results from 96 returned and usable questionnaires were analyzed.

Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the returned data.

Most (56.25%) of the respondents reported using a facility-developed assessment tool, 15.63% used no assessment tool at all, and less than 50% of the responding institutions reported using established protocols for pressure ulcer treatment. Although selection methods differed, most (61.46%) pressure ulcer treatments were reported to be determined by collaboration among nurses, physicians, and other health care providers.

Selection and use of pressure ulcer risk-assessment tools and treatment protocols showed a wide range of variation by extended-care facilities. A high percentage of institutions did not report the use of established, research-based protocols for pressure ulcer treatment, although interdisciplinary collaboration for treatment selection was reported.