Authors

1Mª Antonia Muñoz Mella, 2Estíbaliz Ezpeleta Sáenz de Urturi, 3Fernando Groba Pérez, 4Ignacio Enríquez de Salamanca, 5Pablo Moreira Hermelo

Position

²Enfermera coordinadora de programas.

Contact email: E-mail: eezpeleta@povisa.es

Abstract

Pressure ulcers (PU) are an important health problem that affects a large number of patients in all primary care settings. Most of these lesions can be avoided by implementing good nursing care.

The objective of this work is to describe the application process of a specific patient safety strategy as well as the results from the evaluation of its effectiveness in terms of reduction of the incidence of pressure ulcers and efficiency, expressed in terms of a cost reduction of fungible materials and medication.

The methodology used consisted of the review and update of the existing protocol, establishing new standards and methodology for the evaluation of the indicators.

The results obtained were a 34% incidence reduction of PUs in two years and a 68% cost reduction derived from the cut-down of fungible materials and medication. With the prior protocol, the relative risk of developing PU was 2.17 greater than with the new protocol (CI 95% 1.77-2.64; p = 0,000).

In our opinion, these change come from the change to a better defined strategy and the involvement of professionals through training and stimulation.

Keywords:

epidemiology; patient safety; pressure ulcers; prevention; quality of care; risk assessment scales for PUs

Versión en Español

Título:

Impacto de una estrategia de seguridad del paciente, orientada a la reducción de úlceras por presión