Nursing Interventions

Nursing Interventions to Reduce Risk of Impaired Skin Integrity

Tierra Henderson

Alcorn State University Nursing Interventions to Reduce Risk of Impaired Skin Integrity

Holistic nursing care is the mainstay of each nurse’s professional responsibility. The nurse should pay special attention to every aspect of the person’s biological, physical, and psychological needs. The role of the nurse is to identify a need in the client and to provide adequate interventions to fill that need. The human body is composed of several systems including cardiovascular, pulmonary, and integumentary systems that must be assessed and tended to accordingly. Because as the largest organ of the body the skins care is vital to maintain temperature, provide

Stephen Sprigle and Sharon Soneblum, also, report in their article Assessing evidence supporting redistribution of pressure for pressure ulcer prevention: A review that impaired skin integrity results in the development of pressure ulcers, also commonly referred to as bed sores. Pressure ulcers are caused by pressure characterized by magnitude and duration exerted onto the tissues. Sprigle goes on to indicate that, as evidenced by research of Callum et al, outcomes of constant low pressure support produce better results than standard mattresses found in the majority of hospitals. These devices work by decreasing the magnitude of sites with the greatest potential for ulcer formation, bony prominences (2011). In other words, pressure-relieving devices include support surfaces. The point at which blood becomes obstructed is the when risks of impaired skin integrity is realized. In order to alleviate applied pressure clinical interventions such as the ones listed above pressure-relieving devices like support surfaces as well as repositioning are implemented to diminish the associated risks. Because support surfaces interfere with the degree and how long pressure is applied to a certain area, it hampers with pressure that leads to skin breakdown. Additionally in E. McInnis, Jammali-Blasi, Bell-Syer, Dumille, and Cullum state that there

According to Zena Moore et al. in the article, A randomized controlled clinical trial of repositioning using the 30ᵒ tilt, for the prevention of pressure ulcers, repositioning incorporates changing the client’s position to relieve pressure. Specifically, use of a 30ᵒ angle is the most effective. Since immobility is associated with higher rates of skin breakdown. Assessing for mobility is one of the greatest initial interventions to determine the risk of pressure ulcer formation. Their research resulted in eleven percent of pressure ulcers in the controlled group and three percent in experimental group. This study concluded that repositioning every three hours resulted in occurrence of less skin breakdown. Thus, the turning schedule is a cost effective method for prevention (2011). Immobility leads a client even more vulnerable for several things, and the risk for impaired skin integrity is definitely one of those things. Health care professionals should be aware of that fact and be prepared to address