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Identify One Area of Nursing Research That Has Improved Patient Outcomes. State the Study and Its Impact on Patient Care.

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In the healthcare setting pressure sores (pressure ulcers) represent an ongoing challenge to health care professionals providing care to patients in diverse health-care settings. The incidence of pressure ulcers/sores is reported to be 2.5 million patients each year causing cost burden of 9.1 to
11.6 billion dollars each year in the United States (AHRQ, 2011).
One of the foundation study conducted to address this challenge was by Dr. Nancy Bergstrom in collaboration with Dr. Barbara Braden to develop and test the effectiveness of use of Braden
Scale for assessing risk of pressure sores. In their study, the tool was tested in a multisite clinical trial involving hospitals, Veterans Administration (VA) medical centers and skilled nursing facilities. The study concluded Braden Scale as an effective tool in determining risk of pressure sores in patients (NNIR, n.d). This research has served as a milestone in identifying and preventing pressure sores in high risk patient population.
The Braden Scale is among the most widely used tools used for predicting the risk of development of pressure sores. It assesses patient risk in six areas i.e. sensory perception, skin moisture, activity, mobility, nutrition and friction/ shear. The Braden Scale gives an item score in each subgroup ranging from one (highly impaired) to three/four (no impairment).Summing score of each subgroup yields a total overall risk for pressure ulcers ranging from 6-23 (Stotts, &
Gunningberg, 2007). The lower the score on the scale the higher is the risk of developing pressure sores. Based on the findings of the Braden scale strategies could be employed to prevent the development of pressure sores in high risk patients.
References
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality [AHRQ], (2011). 1. Are we ready for this change?: Preventing pressure ulcers in hospitals: A toolkit for improving quality of care. Retrieved from website: http://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/systems/long-term-care/resources/pressure-ulcers/pressureulcertoolkit/putool1.html
Stotts, N. A., & Gunningberg, L. (2007). Predicting pressure ulcer risk. AJN, American Journal of Nursing, 107(11), 40-48. doi: 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000298058.25564.8a
The National Institute Of Nursing Research [NINR], (n.d.). Developing an index to reduce pressure sore risk. Changing practice, changing lives: 10 landmark nursing research studies. Retrieved from website: http://www.ninr.nih.gov/sites/www.ninr.nih.gov/files/10-landmark-nursing-research-studies.pdf

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