How to prevent pressure ulcers

Want to reduce the rate of pressure ulcers in your nursing home residents? A new study holds an answer.

Researchers from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) and the New York State Department of Health studied the effectiveness of the AHRQ’s On-Time Quality Improvement for Long Term Care program in reducing the number of in-house-acquired pressure ulcers in almost 3,500 residents of 12 New York nursing homes. Implementation of On-Time program components resulted in “sizable reductions in pressure ulcer incidence,” they wrote in an article for the journal Medical Care.

The program, according to AHRQ, is designed to affect positive changes in day-to-day practice, workflow and work culture. The federally funded program also has support from the California HealthCare Foundation.

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Lois Bowers

Lois A. Bowers was senior editor of I Advance Senior Care / Long-Term Living from 2013-2015.