Applied Evidence-Based Project and Practicum NRS-465/Topic 5 DQ 2 -2

Kasie Gillette

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As technology continues to grow at an exponential speed, technology becomes more involved with healthcare innovations and treatments. Within the issue of pressure injuries (PI) of ICU patients with mechanical devices, technology may be a significant consideration in PI prevention. One commonly used health awareness promotion tool is the concept of e-learning. E-learning can be a ‘powerful educational tool for the process of qualification and continuing education, mainly because it contributes to raising awareness among professionals in the implementation of preventive measures and supporting process changes’ (Araújo, et al., 2022). Within e-learning, training programs can be initiated to ICU nurses and other healthcare staff to ensure there is routine education completed regarding PI prevention. Within this e-learning, it can consist of protocol awareness including assessments, dressings, and various preventative measures. Another technology that can be utilized in this healthcare issue is air-assisted technology to help assist in relieving pressure through technology that ‘implements air-assisted moving, lifting, and transferring’ patients (Stoddart, 2022). This assists because it can reduce and spread out pressure on the skin’s bony prominences such as the hips, shoulders, elbows, heels, and saccral areas. These are areas where pressure injuries are mostly found. This is significant because it may be important to explore how air and other pressure-relieving technologies outside of dressings can be combined with ICU devices to prevent pressure injuries in these ICU patients. A potential barrier is possibly that introducing new technologies into the hospital may have a high financial cost. Similarly, determining which vendor or which manufacturer of such technology may be a timely matter to come to decision with in leadership. Despite these barriers, it is important to consider in further research how to navigate in order to target health issues. Considering both technological advances, it is likely a compilation of multiple interventions are needed to make a significant reduction in pressure injury incidences within ICU patients with monitoring devices.

References

Araújo, E. B., Bezerra, S. M. G., Machado, J. da S., Silva, I. M. B., Ferreira, L. F. O., Lira, J. A. C., & Santana, R. S. (2022). Implemented Technologies for Pressure Injury Prevention in the Hospital Context: Integrative Review. Revista Estima, 20, 1–13. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.30886/estima.v20.1252_IN

Stoddart, C. (2022). Air-Assisted Technology. Critical Care Nursing Quarterly, 45 (4), 339-351. doi: 10.1097/CNQ.0000000000000426.

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