Hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) are a significant problem in the healthcare industry. That is why it is not surprising that many scholars focus on the issue and conduct numerous studies to investigate it. The article by Lindhardt et al. (2020) is among them, and the authors aimed to identify the thoughts of nurses caring for older patients with HAPIs. Thus, the present paper will review the selected study to evaluate its findings.
In the beginning, it is necessary to comment on the research design. The study by Lindhardt et al. (2020) is a qualitative review of six nurses’ interviews using thematic analysis. This approach is effective because it allows for identifying the most significant themes in the participants’ responses. It seems that the highlighted methodology and design are perfectly suitable to meet the researchers’ purpose mentioned above.
It is worth admitting that the six nurses were recruited at the geriatric department of Odense University Hospital. The only inclusion criterion was having at least two months of working experience at the given facility. The median age of the participants was 43 years, and the nurses were asked to participate in semi-structured individual interviews. This data collection instrument provides researchers with increased adaptability because they are allowed to ask more questions in addition to predetermined ones if they want to obtain detailed responses from specific interviewees. A six-step thematic analysis was the following process to analyze the collected data and arrive at a theme and sub-themes.
The methodology described above allowed the researchers to obtain specific findings. On the one hand, all the respondents agreed that pressure ulcer prevention was important, and this statement became the main theme. On the other hand, four sub-themes were also generated that specified the respondents’ answers. The first sub-topic focused on the issue that some nurses highlighted increased workload, which makes it challenging for them to implement the best HAPI prevention practices. As for the second sub-theme, several nurses also admitted that basic nursing skills were of the highest importance to provide adequate pressure ulcer care. The necessity to introduce new nurses to the ward through bedside teaching represents the third sup-topic. Simultaneously, the respondents emphasized the effectiveness of the given intervention. Finally, some respondents highlighted that poor communication between nurses and patients with HAPIs could result in compromised health outcomes for the latter.
In addition to that, one should mention that the study under analysis implies both strengths and limitations. On the one hand, the article offers high-quality evidence because data is collected from medical professionals who are directly working with HAPI patients. This information demonstrates that they know how practice is implemented at the site. On the other hand, the study’s findings can be limited because the 6-participant sample size is relatively small, meaning that it is impossible to generalize the findings for the larger population. Furthermore, the focus on geriatric nurses is another weakness because patients in other facilities are also subject to HAPIs. It is worth admitting that the limitations do not reduce the quality of the findings.
In conclusion, one can mention that the article under review and its findings allow for making particular recommendations regarding further practice. On the one hand, the results are helpful for geriatric nurses since the article teaches them to invest many efforts in pressure ulcer prevention, bedside teaching, and adequate communication with patients. On the other hand, healthcare administrations can use the study to identify that geriatric nurses have workload difficulties that decrease the quality of their care. That is why one can state that the selected qualitative article offers valuable conclusions for the entire medical industry.
Reference
Lindhardt, C. L., Beck, S. H., & Ryg, J. (2020). Nursing care for older patients with pressure ulcers: A qualitative study. Nursing Open, 7(4), 1020-1025.