NURSES AND CERTIFIED NURSING ASSISTANTS BRIDGE THE PRESSURE INJURY RESEARCH PRACTICE GAP IN LONG-TERM CARE

Pressure injuries (PI) remain a common problem among geriatric residents in long-term care facilities (LTCF). More than 95% of PIs can be avoided, yet the prevalence of PIs in LTCFs is up to 32%. Implementing pressure injury clinical guidelines (PICG) into practice can reduce PIs. Nurses and certified nursing assistants (CNA) in LTCFs show inadequate knowledge of PIs and PI prevention. This quality improvement project addresses the lack of standardized PI training and adherence to PICGs in an LTCF in southern California. The purpose of this project was to develop and explore the impact of a PI educational workshop and PI prevention bundle to increase knowledge and improve adherence to PICGs. The educational workshop targeted licensed vocational nurses (LVN), registered nurses, and CNAs. The primary goal of this project was to prevent facility-acquired pressure injuries. This project used a pre-post-test design, which measured nurses’ and CNAs' PI prevention knowledge. Using the Plan-Do-Study-Act model, a one-hour educational PI workshop and a PI prevention bundle were developed and implemented to guide evidence-based care. The results showed that facility-acquired PIs remained at zero throughout the project implementation. A paired sample t-test of pre-and post-knowledge showed a statistically significant increase in knowledge scores in all groups (t= 8.16, p < .001). PI education workshops combined with a PI prevention bundle can bridge PICGs into practice and prevent new occurrences of PIs. The literature on educating CNAs and LVNs on PICGs is scant, and further research is needed on PI prevention and PICG implementation in LTCFs.