Date of Award

Fall 2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Committee Chair

Anna Hamrick

Abstract

Low-level foam specialty support surfaces are negatively affecting the number of hospital-acquired pressure injuries that occur each year and overall skin health of acute care patients. Lack of knowledge by wound care specialists on different types of therapy could lead to patients not receiving the best possible specialty surfaces available. An online anonymous survey of 19 certified wound care nurses was conducted. The survey examined the nurses’ knowledge of pressure injuries using the Pieper Zulkowski Pressure Ulcer Knowledge test (PZPUKT) and choice of specialty support surface for prevention of pressure injuries. One hundred percent of nurses scored 80% and higher on the knowledge portion of the survey. Eighty-eight percent of nurses chose the support surface which represents the most current evidence-based research. The preparation, certification and recertification for certified wound care nurses is sufficient to maintain a “good” and “very good” rating on the PZPUKT. Self-driven upkeep of education through literature and lecture by certified wound care nurses leads to choosing most current products with regards to research related findings.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

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