Abstract

Pressure injury (ulcer) is an area of localized damage including the skin and underlying tissues over bony prominences such as the sacrum or heel (National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel [NPUAP], European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel and Pan Pacific Pressure Injury Alliance, 2014). Pressure ulcers are not a new phenomenon, as their occurrence was noted as far back as 2050 to 100 B.C. (Elliott, McKinley, & Fox, 2008). Pressure injury reduces quality of life and imposes a significant financial burden on the individual, family, and health care system (Franks, Winterberg, & Moffat, 2002; Gorecki, Nixon, Madill, Firth, & Brown, 2012; Rodrigues, Ferreira, & Ferre-Grau, 2016). Reports show that 2.5 million pressure injuries are treated annually in the United States in acute care facilities alone (Reddy, Sudeep, & Rochon, 2006). The U.S. expenditures for treating pressure injuries have been estimated at $11 billion per year (Sen et al., 2009). There is evidence to support that certain individuals as well as the presence of certain conditions predispose an individual to developing a pressure injury (Elliott et al., 2008; Fogerty et al., 2008; National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel [NPUAP], European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel and Pan Pacific Pressure Injury Alliance, 2014; Reddy et al., 2006). Identifying those individuals at risk becomes a first-line defense.