Visser AM, Visagie S. Pressure ulcer knowledge, beliefs and practices in a group of South Africans with spinal cord injury.
Spinal Cord Ser Cases 2019;
5:83. [PMID:
31700681 PMCID:
PMC6821773 DOI:
10.1038/s41394-019-0226-4]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2019] [Revised: 09/02/2019] [Accepted: 09/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Study design
A quantitative, descriptive study using a cross-sectional survey.
Objectives
To describe the pressure ulcer knowledge, beliefs and practices amongst persons with SCI, who received rehabilitation at a Cape Town rehabilitation centre.
Setting
A rehabilitation centre for clients with physical disabilities in Cape Town, South Africa.
Methods
A quantitative, descriptive study, that employed consecutive sampling, was done. Participants included inpatients (n = 30), outpatients (n = 33) and peer supporters (n = 8). Data were collected during April and March 2015 with a questionnaire developed through collating existing questionnaires and adapting it for the study context. This rendered a knowledge score and data on beliefs and practices. The Fisher's exact test was used for comparative analysis (p < 0.05).
Results
The mean combined knowledge score was 42.7%. The majority of participants (88.7%) believed pressure ulcers to be serious and 45% thought they were likely to develop a PU. They believed daily skin checks (80.3%), weight shifting (86%) and limiting sitting time (80.3%) could prevent PU development. Study participants indicated that they did not regularly follow guideline recommended practices like regular pressure relief (51%) (36 participants) or daily skin inspection (38%) (27 participants) and 37% (26 participants) reported being current smokers.
Conclusion
Participants showed a lack of knowledge, which might have affected their pressure ulcer prevention practices negatively. The study findings can be used to assist with the development of a contextually relevant training programme on pressure care.
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