NSG 502 Research – Week 12

Instructions

Hello. The post for week 12 is short and sweet:

_________________

Briefly summarize your final project to share with classmates.

Solution

Pressure ulcer

My proposed research study tries to address pressure ulcer incidences within a clinical setting using alternating pressure air mattresses. Pressure ulcers are associated with poor patient outcomes, further health complications, prolonged hospital stay, high cost of health care, and increased rates of mortality (Ezeamuzie et al., 2019). Therefore, efforts to address pressure ulcers are justifiable; to improve the quality of healthcare delivered to patients.

The purpose of this proposal is to examine the effectiveness of alternating pressure air mattresses in preventing pressure ulcers in hospitalized patients. The PICOT question states as follows: In hospitalized patients with limited mobility (P), how does the use of alternating pressure air mattresses (I) compared to no intervention (C) affect the rates of pressure ulcers (O) within six months (T)?

This is a quantitative study using a quasi-experimental design. I preferred this study design after considering the nature of this research study proposal. It will entail statistical analysis, hence, quantitative study (Maciejewski, 2020). All patients in the hospital will be recruited into the study, so, there will be no controlled arm. Using a quasi-experimental design, a purposive sampling method can be utilized to ensure that only patients who are hospitalized have limited mobility and are at higher risk of developing pressure ulcers (PUs) are selected for the study.

The study participants include hospitalized adult patients in a single unit with limited mobility who have a higher risk of developing pressure ulcers. Participants will be recruited based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data collection will be carried out using different types of instruments/tools such as questionnaires (Maciejewski, 2020). The study results will be compared retrospectively. The primary measurement is the percentage of patients that will develop pressure ulcers in 6 months.

Electronic health record systems are a good tool to be used to retrieve such data. Secondary measurements will include pressure ulcer risk, patient satisfaction, and care team assessment regarding the use of alternating pressure air mattresses. To analyze data, various methods of statistical analysis will be utilized. Descriptive statistics (percentages, mean, median, mode, standard deviation (SD), and variance) will be used in the analysis of the results of this project (Maciejewski, 2020).

Statistical evaluation of the mattress effect will be based on survival analysis and the Cox proportional hazards model, a regression model, which delivers a direct comparison of the efficacy of different support surfaces. Before commencing this project, participants’ education will be conducted. The researchers will seek both oral and written informed consent from the participants (Ezeamuzie et al., 2019). I believe that this study will provide information that will be beneficial to clinical settings in preventing pressure ulcers.

References

Ezeamuzie, O., Darian, V., Katiyar, U., & Siddiqui, A. (2019). Intraoperative use of low-profile alternating pressure mattress for prevention of hospital-acquired pressure injury. Perioperative Care and Operating Room Management, 17, 100080. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcorm.2019.10000
Maciejewski, M. L. (2020). Quasi-experimental design. Biostatistics & Epidemiology, 4(1), 38-47. https://doi.org/10.1080/24709360.2018.1477468

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