Background: Over 2.5 million patients are negatively impacted by Hospital Acquired Pressure Injuries (HAPI) each year in the United States (Gould et al., 2019). Research demonstrates that adherence to a pressure injury prevention bundle including nursing assessment, identification of high-risk patients, and repositioning can be effective in reducing HAPI (Alshahrani et al., 2021). Employing these strategies and reducing HAPI requires a collaborative effort among the care team (Gould et al., 2019).
Local problem: In August 2022, there were 9 HAPI identified during the quarterly Prevalence Survey.
Method: In January 2023, a quality improvement project lead by the Nursing Professional Development team, Wound Care Lead RN, and department HAPI champions to reduce HAPI was conducted. Monthly audits were conducted and results were utilized for action planning and education. Education was delivered to staff to reinforce basic reduction strategies, such as dual RN skin assessment upon admission, identification of high-risk patients, and use of pressure injury prevention tools in patient care (Gaspar et al., 2019). Additional surveillance and education included monthly audits of all patients by the department HAPI champions, communication of audit results, and a targeted “tip of the month” to all teammates.
Results/Conclusions: Incidence of HAPI on Prevalence Survey was reduced by 89% from Q3 2022 (9 in August 2022) to Q2 2023 (1 in April 2023).
Implications for practice: Develop an ongoing multidisciplinary team that includes clinical nurses and wound care nurse to achieve buy-in and raise awareness. Once buy-in is established, the team can champion efforts to reinforce HAPI reduction strategies including dual RN assessments, identification of high-risk patients, monthly audits, and communication of results, opportunities, and practice tips to clinical team.
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