Pressure ulcers are often faced by those patients who have limited motion. Even though there are numerous evidence-based approaches that can be used to prevent them, a lot of patients continue suffering from this severe condition (Dziedzic, 2013). Thus, it will be advantageous to conduct a study aimed at answering the following clinical question:
How can the implementation of a pressure ulcer protocol initiated in an emergency department reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers in patients who are at high risk for their development?
This very clinical question provides an opportunity to identify the most appropriate type of study that can be some by the researcher. In this particular case, it can be determined that there is a necessity to alter the way in which the emergency department operates while working with patients who are likely to have pressure ulcers. Thus, it cannot be denied that an experimental study is needed because it can allow the professional to compare the effects of usual care and the use of the protocol. This type of research is required because there is no possibility to conduct a retrospective study, as there is a lack of information.
A change in care is needed to receive enough evidence to discuss the advantages of the proposed intervention. In this way, random assignment and sampling will be ensured when gathering two groups of patients who will receive different types of care. The environment of the research will be carefully controlled, which will minimalize the possibility of errors. Thus, the true effect of the proposed intervention will be revealed. Even though this type of research is rather difficult to conduct because of randomization, its results are the most valuable for the field.
The necessity to focus on pressure ulcers and their prevention through the improvement of healthcare services provided by nurses can be explained by the behavioral system model developed by Dorothy Johnson. According to it, nurses are expected to do their best in order to prevent illnesses and stresses. They are to assist their clients “whose behavior does not give evidence of unnecessary trauma as a consequence of illness” (Wayne, 2014, para. 5).
In this way, professionals are to focus on the ways behaviors can be altered so that adaptation functions effectively. Nurses should be able to identify any threats to patients’ physical and social health. The proposed intervention, which presupposes the use of the pressure ulcer protocol, is likely to be rather advantageous for this purpose because it ensures that nurses will have an opportunity to notice any changes in patients’ state.
References
Dziedzic, M. E. (2013). Fast facts about pressure ulcer care for nurses: How to prevent, detect, and resolve them in a nutshell. New York, NY: Springer.
Wayne, G. (2014). Dorothy E. Johnson’s behavioral system model. Web.