Improving Pressure Injury Care Outcomes With Structured Patient Education

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a structured patient education program on pressure injury (PI) knowledge, patient participation in PI, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and healing rates. DESIGN: Quasi-experimental study SUBJECTS AND SETTING: This sample comprised 116 adult patients with limited mobility and stage 2 or 3 PIs. Their mean age was 52.5 (SD 13.4) years; 65.5% (n = 76) were male. Participants were assigned to intervention and control groups, each with 58 participants. This study was conducted in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, from August 2020 to November 2021. METHODS: The intervention group received a structured education program spanning 4 days of daily 40-minute face-to-face sessions, followed by biweekly sessions for 8 weeks. Educational sessions focused on PI etiology, staging, skin care, incontinence management, repositioning, support surfaces, wound dressings, and dietary needs. Follow-up focused on biweekly monitoring and skin assessments, with activities recorded in a logbook. The control group received standard care and advice on PIs. Outcome variables were assessed using a validated questionnaire and checklist at baseline, and at weeks 4 and 8. RESULTS: Both control and intervention groups demonstrated improved knowledge and participation in PI care over time. However, the intervention group exhibited significantly greater knowledge and perceived participation than the control group. Quality-of-life scores decreased over time in both groups; nevertheless, the intervention group showed significant improvements when compared to the control group and they experienced significantly more progress toward healing than the control group (even after controlling for PI stages/categories and initial wound size). CONCLUSION: We found positive effects of structured PI educational intervention which achieved enhanced knowledge, better patient participation care, improved HRQOL, and greater progress toward healing than the comparison group.