Select a topic for your Topic 3 Executive Summary assignment. Post your idea and basic thoughts about the topic using the assignment details from Topic 3. You should provide thoughts to your peers about their topics and ideas that may assist them in completing their projects.You will propose a quality improvement initiative from your place of employment that could easily be implemented if approved. Assume you are presenting this program to the board for approval of funding. Therefore, a focused topic is needed. (For example, DO NOT use broad topics like hand hygiene, nursing turnover, nursing shortage, nursing-patient ratios, nurse staffing, critical thinking, etc.)
The Use of Alternating Pressure Air Mattresses to Prevent Pressure Ulcers
High rates of pressure ulcer incidences increase length of stay, increase healthcare costs, and negatively affect patient outcomes. The clinical setting has been reporting increasing rates of pressure ulcers in the past month. Patients who are unable to turn when lying on the bed often develop pressure ulcers despite frequent repositioning. The quality improvement topic that has been chosen for the Executive Summary is ‘The Use of Alternating Pressure Air Mattresses to Prevent Pressure Ulcers.’ Currently, the facility is using ordinary mattresses which have been found to increase the risk of pressure ulcers among immobile patients. It is anticipated that replacing the ordinary mattresses with the alternating pressure air mattresses will help to relieve pressure on the patient’s body thereby preventing them from developing pressure ulcers.
Alternating pressure air mattresses are specialized types of mattresses with confirmed effectiveness in preventing pressure ulcers. They are designed with a number of chambers that fill will different volumes automatically. The pressure of the air inside them changes often within short periods to relieve pressure on different surfaces of the body. The effectiveness of alternating pressure air mattresses in preventing pressure ulcers has been confirmed through research. A study conducted by Shi et al. (2021) revealed that alternating pressure surfaces, when placed on hospital beds, reduced the proportion of patients who developed new incidences of pressure injuries. In another study, Ezeamuzie et al. (2019) conducted a prospective case control study to investigate the effect of alternating pressure mattresses on the rates of hospital-acquired pressure injuries among patients in the operative room. The study findings indicate that only 1 patient out of 104 patients (0.96%) in the intervention group developed pressure ulcers. Based on this evidence, the hospital needs to purchase alternating pressure mattresses and use them on beds to prevent at risk patients from developing pressure ulcers.
References
Ezeamuzie, O., Darian, V., Katiyar, U., & Siddiqui, A. (2019). Intraoperative use of low-profile alternating pressure mattress for prevention of hospital acquired pressure injury. Perioperative Care and Operating Room Management, 17(1), 100800. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcorm.2019.100080.
Shi, C., Dumville, J. C., Cullum, N., Rhodes, S., Jammali-Blasi, A., & McInnes, E. (2021). Alternating pressure (active) air surfaces for preventing pressure ulcers. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 5(5), CD013620. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD013620.pub2