Pressure Injuries: An Exploration of How Evidence-Based Practice Has the Potential to Improve Care Delivery

Abstract

Also referred to as bedsores, pressure injuries occur on the underlying tissue or the skin. The injuries vary in the magnitude, including situations with infections extending into bones and muscles, severe tissue damage, and mild skin reddening. In contemporary healthcare systems, the importance of evidence-based practice has been documented. Evidence-based practice comes in the form of the utilization of current best evidence while making decisions relative to health care service provision. At this point, a question that emerges is, considering the increasing incidence and prevalence of pressure injuries, to what extent is evidence-based practice likely to steer improvements in care delivery? The main aim of this paper is to summarize the findings and interventions of two articles that have examined the subject of pressure injuries. From the results documented in both articles, the insights gained for the pressure ulcer literature is that when the evidence-based practice is used during the diagnosis and treatment of patients with pressure injuries, several beneficial effects accrue. They include the ability to meet patients’ and families’ expectations, reduced complications and avoidable hospital readmissions, increased role satisfaction and empowerment among healthcare providers, reduced costs of health care, and improved patient outcomes and quality of care. Therefore, in the future, it is recommended that nurse practitioners and other health care service providers embrace evidence-based practice while diagnosing and treating patients with pressure injuries, a trend poised to allow them to benefit from the aforementioned improvements in care delivery. The information gathered above centers on the subject of pressure injuries and how evidence-based practice usage could aid in improving care delivery for the affected populations. From the information, several insights are gained concerning the role of evidence-based practice while diagnosing and treating patients with pressure injuries. Particularly, it can be seen that evidence-based practice allows for role satisfaction and empowerment among healthcare providers, reduces geographic variations concerning care delivery, minimizes health care costs, and steers improvements in patient outcomes, as well as the quality of care for persons diagnosed with pressure injuries.