The Necessity of Clinical Guidelines in Preventing and Treating Pressure Ulcers
Pressure ulcers, more commonly known as bed sores, are defined by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) as ôlesions caused by unrelieved pressure that results in damage to underlying tissueö (Langemo, Anderson, & Volden, 2003, p. 54). Despite the ease in preventing pressure ulcers, 2.4 million patients develop pressure ulcers each year (Fink, 2003, p. 6). As Langemo et al. (2003) maintain, pressure ulcers result in unnecessary pain and complications as well as significant healthcare costs in the billions of dollars.
According to Langemo et al. (2003), despite the prevalence of pressure ulcers, preventive strategies result in a 34% to 50% decrease in healthcare facility acquired ulcers. The prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers falls within the realm of nursing practice. Therefore clinical guidelines are necessary for healthcare facilities to develop effective methods of treating and preventing pressure ulcers. Because of the unnecessary physical, psychological, and financial consequences that result due to pressure ulcers, this writer has chosen a focus on clinical guidelines for their prevention and treatment culled from evidence based practice and research.
According to Lewis, Pearson, and Ward (2003), a major focus of clinicians, nurses, and healthcare workers should be ôthe improvement of prevention strategies to minimize the health and financial impact of pressure ulcersö (p. 92). The authors in this study provide a qualitative research design of a literature review on previously published literature on the treatment and prevention of pressure ulcers to propose a model of ôclinical guidelinesö that can be applied in a variety of clinical settings (Lewis, et al., 2003, p. 92). The significance of this research for the clinician is a model guideline that can be used to undermine the prevalence of pressure ...