Registered nurses’ attention to and perceptions of pressure ulcer prevention in hospital settings

Aim. To describe how registered nurses perform, document and reflect on pressure ulcer prevention in a specific nurse–patient care situation, as well as generally, on hospital wards. Background. Registered nurses should provide safe and qualified pressure ulcer prevention, but pressure ulcers remain a problem. Compliance with evidence‐based guidelines impedes pressure ulcer formation. Design. A descriptive design with a multimethods approach. Method. Nine registered nurses at three wards and hospitals participated. The registered nurses were observed in a specific nurse–patient care situation with patients at risk for pressure ulcers. Interviews followed and patients’ records were reviewed. Quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods were used. Results. Pressure ulcer prevention performed by the registered nurses was dependent on the cultural care, which ranged from planned to unplanned prevention. Diversity was found in compliance with evidence‐based guidelines across the wards. Although all patients involved were at risk and the nurses described pressure ulcer prevention as basic care, the nurses’ attention to prevention was lacking. Few prevention activities and no structured risk assessments using risk assessment tools were observed, and few care plans were identified. The lack of attention was explained by registered nurses’ trust in assistant nurses’ knowledge, and prevention was seen as an assistant nurse task. Conclusion. Registered nurses paid little attention to pressure ulcer prevention among patients at risk. The planned and unplanned care structures affected the prevention. The nurses trusted and largely delegated their responsibility to the assistant nurses. Relevance to clinical practice. Evidence‐based pressure ulcer prevention is fundamental to patient safety. Care quality is created in situations where patients and care providers meet. How registered nurses work with pressure ulcer prevention, their role and communication, particularly with assistant nurses, should be of major concern to them as well as to healthcare managers.