The first article is “Results of the 2008-2009 International Pressure Ulcer prevalence survey and a 3-year acute care unit specific analysis” by VanGilder, Amlung, Harrison, and Meyer (2008). The abstract of the first article sets the expectation that the article is about the breakdown of Pressure Ulcer prevalence by year, unit, and type. The purpose of this article is to measure the prevalence of Pressure Ulcers in 2008 and 2009 and compare it to the data from previous years. The scope of the study is the Facility-Acquired Pressure Ulcer cases recorded from 2006 to 2009 in all care settings. The rationale behind the paper is that ulcer prevention is becoming more critical, and its impact on case prevalence needs to be measured to create an efficient strategy. The study is observational, and the research question “what is the prevalence of Pressure Ulcers?” is implicit. The key concepts are “Pressure Ulcer,” “Facility-Acquired,” and “Prevalence.” The literature review is provided in the article.
The sample of the study is the US patients from the International Pressure Ulcer Prevalence survey, numbering 96,068 in 2009. The data collection procedure is a self-selecting survey. The findings are that the pressure ulcer cases have been overall less prevalent in 2009 than in previous years, except in long-term care and rehabilitation. The data were collected through a survey and analyzed through descriptive statistics and supported by graphs and charts. The study has examined the prevalence rates of Pressure Ulcer cases and found an overall downward trend. More in-depth studies were suggested to research treatment for the ulcers. Thirty works were cited in the article, most notably Vollman (2006) and VanGlider, MacFarlane, Meyer, and Lachenbruch (2008).
The second article is “Hospital-Acquired Pressure Ulcers: Results from the National Medicare Patient Safety Monitoring System study” by Lyder, Wang, Metersky, Curry, Kliman, Verzier, and Hunt (2012). The abstract of the paper makes the reader expect a study on the national incidence of Pressure Ulcers in Medicare beneficiaries. The rationale for the article is that there is a lack of studies on large-scale Medicare beneficiaries and pressure ulcer cases that would create a national benchmark, and the following purpose of the study is to create such a benchmark.
The scope of the study is the ulcer case incidence, and characteristics in Medicare patients discharged from hospitals in 2006 and 2007. As the study is observational, the research question “what are the characteristics and prevalence of ulcer cases in Medicare patients?” is implicit. The key concept of the study is “Hospital-Acquired Pressure Ulcer,” and the article includes a literature review.
The population being sampled are Medicare beneficiaries that have been discharged from hospitals in 2006 and 2007. The data was collected from several national databases. The findings state that the national incidence rate of HAPUs is 4.5%, that patients with HAPUs were more likely to be readmitted within 30 days, and that there is a significant variance between states in HAPU prevalence. The data were analyzed using chi-squared tests, t-tests, and HGLM, and supported by tables and figures. The study has examined 51842 patients and found that patients with PU were more likely to die, be readmitted, and stay in hospitals for longer. The national and state prevalence levels were also measured and are available as benchmarks. Further studies could analyze prevalence rates in the future years to keep the benchmark up to date. The article cites 27 other works, most notably Cuddigan, Ayello, and Sussman (2001) and “Pressure Ulcers: Avoidable or unavoidable?”
References
Cuddigan, J., Ayello, E.A., & Sussman, C. (Eds.) (2001). Pressure Ulcers in America: Prevalence, Incidence, and Implications for the Future. Reston, VA: National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel.
Lyder, C. H., Wang, Y., Metersky, M., Curry, M., Kliman, R., Verzier, N. R., & Hunt, D. R. (2012). Hospital-acquired pressure ulcers: Results from the national medicare patient safety monitoring system study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 60(9), 1603–1608.
Pressure Ulcers: Avoidable or unavoidable? Results of the national Pressure Ulcer advisory panel consensus conference. (n.d.). Web.
VanGilder, C., Amlung, S., Harrison, P., & Meyer, S. (2009). Results of the 2008-2009 International Pressure Ulcer prevalence survey and a 3-year acute care unit specific analysis. Ostomy Wound Manage, 55(11), 39-55.
VanGlider, C., MacFarlane, G., Meyer, S., & Lachenbruch, C. (2008). Body mass index, weight, and pressure ulcer prevalence: an analysis of the 2006-2007 international Pressure Ulcer prevalence surveys. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 24(2), 127-135.
Vollman, K.M. (2006). Ventilator-associated pneumonia and pressure ulcer prevention as targets for quality improvement in the ICU. Critical Care Nursing Clinics of North America, 18, 453-467.