Exploring Wound Care Knowledge and Practices among Nurses at King Khalid University Hospital: Pressure Ulcer Study

This study explores the existing wound care knowledge and practices among nurses working at King Khalid University Hospital in Riyadh, specifically focusing on pressure ulcers. The aim is to assess the level of understanding and knowledge among nurses regarding pressure ulcer wound management compared to regular wound management. The study will provide valuable insights for improving wound care practices and preventing complications associated with pressure ulcers.

Running head: PRESSURE ULCER NURSING MANAGEMENT
Pressure ulcer nursing management
Name of the student;
Name of the university:
Author note:

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Table of Contents
Title:.................................................................................................................................................2
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................2
Background......................................................................................................................................2
Research problem:...........................................................................................................................3
Literature review:.............................................................................................................................3
Research question:...........................................................................................................................4
Aim of the study:.............................................................................................................................5
Statement purpose:...........................................................................................................................5
Research hypothesis:.......................................................................................................................5
Methodology:...................................................................................................................................6
Ethical considerations:.....................................................................................................................6
Conclusions:....................................................................................................................................6

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Title:
Exploring the Existing Wound Care Knowledge and Practices among Nurses Working at King
Khalid University Hospital in Riyadh: Case of Pressure Ulcer. A Qualitative study
Introduction:
Pressure ulcers are also called the bedsores or pressure sores and it is the injury to the skin that
underlies the tissue, and it is generally caused by the pressure on the skin for a prolonged period.
Pressure ulcers can happen to anyone, but it usually affects the people that that are confined to
bed, wheelchair or chair for a long period of time. The lack of understanding and knowledge
among the caregivers regarding the infection control and the proper management of the pressure
ulcers contributed to the high morbidity and high mortality within the mobility restricted patients
(Cooper 2013).
Thesis statement- Pressure ulcers are very common among the patient populations which
especially include the aged care and the acute care sectors. It is also important to mention that the
proper and effective management of the wound care is associated with the maintenance of the
pressure ulcers and the other complexities associated with it. A large number of individuals in
the acute care facilities and the mobility restricted patients suffer from amputation, infection,
exacerbations and even death in extreme cases.
Background
Missed nursing care is often considered as omission error and it occurs due to the lack
of understanding and knowledge. Due to certain factors, nursing is also not performed properly.

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The majority of the cases involve communication resources, material resources and human
(Sullivan and Schoelles 2013). There are other factors that also contribute to the development of
the pressure ulcers among the acute care patients and it includes deficient teamwork, insufficient
time or lack of time for care, personnel shortage, low staffing, and denial to perform a certain
task, ineffective delegating and lack of knowledge. Pressure ulcers are a challenge for
professionals because it is a part of the care practice and it can be prevented (Valles et al. 2016).
Research problem:
Pressure ulcer is a very common health care adversity where the patient experienced an
adverse effect. A study argued that lack of effective wound care for the pressure ulcer is
identified as the contributor for increasing ulcer related morbidity and mortality rate. A study by
suggested that 70 % of the presser ulcer infections which leads to severe execration events. The
authors identified that it was mainly observed in the older patient (Sullivan and Schoelles 2013).
Another study suggested that although the wound although the long-term care facilities are
increasing for reducing the incidence of the pressure ulcer in Saudi Arabia, the prevalence of
complication related to the pressure ulcer such as critical illness, being bedridden (Kayser et al.
2018). It was identified that the prime reason behind lack of effective wound management is
inadequate knowledge of effective wound management. Hence, the management of the wound
care in pressure ulcer, as well as prevention before it gives rise to the severe complication, is
crucial public health priorities for offering effective wound care management in long-term care
setting.

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Literature review:
The pressure ulcer has become a severe public health issues in Saudi Arabia since it leads
to the severe infection and associated deaths. As identified in the previous study that 70% of the
individuals was suffering from the infection due to improper management of the infection by
nurses (Sullivan and Schoelles 2013). As argued by Amr et al. (2017), lack of proper wound care
management is due to the lack of extensive knowledge of nurses for proper care management.
The lack of proper knowledge and understanding critical systematic steps for following in order
to manage effectively is crucial and this, in turn, contributed to the mortality and morbid rate
(Tayyib et al. 2015). The study suggested that even if the nurse poses knowledge of wound care,
in this demography, the understanding of the wound management in the nursing is low (Amirah
et al. 2017). The lack of extensive research for gaining knowledge and infection management is
also identified as a contributing factor for the lack of knowledge and understanding of the nurses
in Saudi Arabia (Al-Dorzi 2017). Consequently, although the long-term acute cares facilities in
the care setting is available in Saudi Arabia, especially for the elder patient, lack o knowledge in
control increasing the mortality rate. It was also identified that proper education and training can
reduce the medical error relevant to the prevention of pressure ulcer. Therefore, emphasize
should be given to the knowledge and level of understanding.

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Watson’s Theory of Human Caring
Moral
s
Authentic patience
Empathetic relationship
Authentic patience
Care healing environment
Learning experience care
healing environment
Secondary
outcome
Watson’s Theory of Human Caring, a Conceptual framework can help indentifying the
research gap such as level of understanding during management of ulcer. This framework is
based on the morals and authentic patience of nurses in the care healing environment (Tektaş,
and Çam 2017). Therefore, in order to manage pain for the patient with pressure ulcer, engaging
in genuine teaching learning experience, creating care healing environment and developing a
empathetic relationship is crucial for nursing practice.
Research question:
What is the level of knowledge and experience among the nurses regarding pressure ulcer wound
management as compared to regular wound management in KKUH, Riyadh?

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Aim of the study:
Due to the prevalence of the high morbidity and mortality rate associated with the
pressure ulcer, it has become a public health priority and proper management require accurate
knowledge and level of understanding. Therefore, Aim of the study is to gain the information of
the level of understanding of nurses.
Statement purpose:
Martin et al. (2017), suggested that extensive research is required for wounding the
management of pressure ulcer. A study by Nuru et al. (2015), suggested that although the nurses
have knowledge of the wound management, they lack the proper knowledge of the angle of bed
elevations during the pressure ulcer management for the health care (Black 2015). Lack of
proper research in wound care management of pressure ulcer is another crucial reason
(Gunningberg et al. 2015). The study also identified that due to lack of experience in the nurses,
they failed to control the bed elevation (Padula et al. 2015). Another demographic data suggested
data; they failed to perform basic management procedure such as proper hygiene which worsens
the infection which contributed to the morbidity and mortality rate (Cox, Roche and Gandhi
2013). Therefore, the researchers should identify the level of understanding and knowledge on
the pressure ulcer management compared to regular wound management in the nurses of KKUH
of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Research hypothesis:
The hypothesis would be created for the level of understanding and knowledge of the
nurses for prevention and management specific to the pressure ulcer. The hypothesis would be
based on the literature finding and assumptions from the previous management. The hypothesis

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that would be tasted is lack of proper knowledge and understanding of the nurses regarding
pressure ulcer specific wound care which can be addressed by targeted specific training and
education. The hypothesis would be tested by the researchers that would be carried out by
interviewing the nurses of KKUH, Riyadh.
Methodology:
The nurses would be interviewed by providing questioner to them in order to obtain their
level of understanding of specific preventing care of pressure ulcer as well as how education and
specific training can dress the current public health concern. The researcher should ensure that
for each nurse, the same questionnaire would be used in order to gain the dynamic perception on
each question the primary data would be collected from the interview for gaining the
understanding and data would analyze using grounded theory (Glaser and Strauss 2017).
Ethical considerations:
While conducting the interview, ethical consideration should be taken into account for
avoiding any legal obligations. Therefore, the data obtained from the interview would be locked
in a safe place for avoiding any legal obligations. The participants would be provided with the
details of the research and their consent would be written in the paper for maintaining ethics. No
participants would be forced to participate in the interview for the sake of the research.
Conclusions:
Thesis statement- Pressure ulcers are very common among the patient populations which
especially include the aged care and the acute care sectors. It is also important to mention that the
proper and effective management of the wound care is associated with the maintenance of the
pressure ulcers and the other complexities associated with it. A large number of individuals in

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the acute care facilities and the mobility restricted patients suffer from amputation, infection,
exacerbations and even death in extreme cases.
It can be concluded that 70 percent of the patients suffered from severe ulcer infections
due to the improper wound care knowledge and the improper wound care management due to the
inadequate care practices. The lack of knowledge of the nurses and the insufficient nursing staff
has led to the incidences of pressure ulcer exacerbations. Patients with restricted mobility,
bedridden and are facing critical issues have chances of high complications associated with the
pressure ulcers. Thus, the emphasis on pressure ulcer management, the acquisition is very in
Saudi Arabia. Similarly, the knowledge and understanding regarding the pressure ulcer are very
low among the nursing staffs working in KKUH, Riyadh. Therefore, further research would be
conducted for identifying the level of understanding and how effective training and education
can help nurses for better management of the patient by conducting an effective interview. The
successful completion of the research would help in identifying the exact reason behind and
come up with better intervention or skill management for resolving the issue.

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Reference:
Al-Dorzi, H.M., 2017. Pressure ulcers in critically III patients in Saudi Arabia: An opportunity
for collaborative research on an ugly disease. Saudi Critical Care Journal, 1(6), p.14.
Amirah, M.F., Rasheed, A.M., Parameaswari, P.J., Numan, O.S. and al Muteb, M., 2017. A
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