Date
8-29-2025
Department
School of Nursing
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Chair
Debra Maddox
Keywords
pressure injuries, healthcare associated pressure injuries, wounds, healthcare associated wounds, HAPIs
Disciplines
Nursing
Recommended Citation
Nichols, Amanda R., "Decreasing the Incidence of Healthcare Associated Presure Injuries in the Acute Care Setting" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7417.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7417
Abstract
Healthcare-associated pressure injuries (HAPIs) can cause great harm to vulnerable patients. Acquiring a HAPI during hospitalization can result in delayed wound treatment, prolonged hospitalization, risk for infection, reimbursement issues for the facility, and delayed patient discharge. Avoiding these injuries is essential to improve patient outcomes. Research reveals that the implementation of nurse education and two registered nurse skin assessments on admission, instead of one nurse skin assessment, can decrease the incidence of healthcare-associated pressure injuries. Using the Iowa model, the goal of this scholarly project is to implement evidence-based research to change the current process and decrease the incidence of healthcare-associated pressure injury. Implementation of staff educational interventions related to facility protocols, documentation, and appropriate staging, revealed increased staff confidence, increased nursing knowledge, and decreased incidence of healthcare-associated pressure injuries over the 12-week implementation phase.
