Management Of Pressure Ulcers Among Chronic Care Patients Dissertation

Management Of Pressure Ulcers Among Chronic Care Patients - Dissertation Example Continued pressure on one part of the body may cause these pressure ulcers to manifest; and with continued neglect and without any medical and/or nursing intervention, these pressure ulcers can progress to their more serious stages. With adequate and appropriate nursing management, these pressure ulcers can however be prevented and treated. This paper shall discuss the various nursing management methods for pressure ulcers among the adult chronic care patients. This paper shall consider the risk factors for pressure ulcers and the different stages of the progression of this medical problem. It shall discuss the specific nursing management measures which can be applied in order to prevent the appearance and the progression of pressure ulcers among adult chronic care patients. This paper is being carried out in order to establish clear standards in the management of pressure ulcers. This topic was chosen because of this student’s current involvement with adult care practice, wit h much attention given to chronic care patients and the different issues they experience as long-term patients. Much attention needs to be given again to chronic care because these are domains of nursing practice which often calls for the most hours spent by nurses. Pressure ulcers in this paper shall be defined as â€Å"a lesion caused by unrelieved pressure with damage to the underlying tissue† (Mauk, 2009, p. 501). Adult chronic care patients shall refer to adult patients, aged 18 years and above suffering from chronic conditions (prolonged period of time). These chronic conditions are diseases or medical conditions which often persist for prolonged periods; they include conditions like paralysis, fracture, coma, cancer, osteoarthritis, and spinal injury. With these considerations, this paper aims to establish the different methods of managing pressure ulcers among elderly chronic care patients. Specifically, it shall discuss the different ways of preventing the appearance of pressure ulcers among patients at risk for pressure ulcers. A review of studies in relation to the current topic shall be undertaken in different databases including the library catalogues, research indices, the internet, and similar databases such as Medline, CI NAHL, and the Royal College of Nursing. Library searches shall be carried out by using library catalogues and search databases. Books and journals, as well as news articles shall be reviewed with particular focus on the keywords: nursing management and pressure ulcers. Internet searches shall include database searches using keywords nursing management and pressure ulcers, pressure sores, and decubitus ulcers. Relevant materials shall be set aside for further review. Materials which shall be included in this review shall be studies published from January 2000 to January 2011. Those which discuss the nursing management of pressure ulcers or sores shall be considered for this research. The credibility of these authors as well as their publishers shall also be reviewed. Those which discuss pressure ulcers among the elderly shall also be included in this paper. These parameters shall help provide inclusion criteria for this study. Main body Pressure ulcers are serious medical issues invo lving vulnerable patients. According to the Ministry of Health or MOH (2001, p. 6), incidents of pressure ulcer register at a rate of 5% to 16% among in-patients. It is therefore important to prevent this condition in order to avoid its worsening and progression into deeper skin layers. These pressure ulcers are assessed and described at different stages. For the sake of