Patients must be repositioned every two hours under current best practices. Researchers will examine whether patient repositioning can be extended to three or four hours without increasing the incidence of pressure ulcers. The study will also examine the effects of repositioning patients on high-density foam mattresses.
“We need this information to decide how to deliver the best prevention care realistically and safely,” said Tracey Yap, RN, PhD, associate professor at Duke University School of Nursing and the principal investigator. “We are overdue to find updated ways to improve quality of life while reducing facility-acquired pressure ulcers and lowering healthcare costs.”
Up to 24 percent of long-term care residents and 10 percent of hospital patients experience pressure ulcers, which cost the U.S. healthcare system $11 billion every year.
The National Institutes of Nursing Research, part of the National Institutes of Health, is funding the study.
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