Pressure Ulcer Prevention
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WE CONDUCTED OUR OWN ASSESSMENTS
In our exploratory study, we used methodologies comparable to tinkering under a car's hood and poking around under its chassis. Although we used some secondary data sources, usually medical records, to evaluate PU care in nursing homes, we primarily collected information using our own eyes and ears (and then often used this data to verify information in the medical charts).
We conducted skin assessments, checked at regular intervals to see whether PU risk residents were lying or sitting on pressure reduction surfaces, used wireless thigh movement monitors to find out how often at-risk residents were repositioned, directly observed mealtimes, and asked residents about the incontinence care they received.
Although medical records and especially information from Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessments are widely used to evaluate quality of care in nursing homes, we have repeatedly found this information to be inaccurate. Consequently, we try to use it sparingly, and then only in conjunction with data gleaned from other assessment strategies, such as resident reports and direct observations.
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