Nurses' perception and experiences towards medical device-related pressure injuries: A qualitative study

Abstract

Aims and objectives: This study aims to explore nurses' perceptions and experiences regarding pressure injuries caused by medical devices and to understand the perceived challenges and barriers nurses face in preventing medical device-related pressure injuries.

Background: Nurses have a responsibility to prevent pressure injuries and play a major role in their prevention. As there has been a lack of research on medical device-related pressure injuries, not much is known about nurses' perceptions and experiences. This therefore hinders the establishment of effective and efficient interventions in nurses' education and in the practical environment.

Design: A descriptive qualitative design was adopted, and the COREQ checklist was employed to report on the current study.

Methods: The study was conducted at an acute care hospital in Singapore. Purposive sampling was used, and a total of 21 enrolled and registered nurses who had recent experiences with medical device-related pressure injuries were recruited between August and December 2018. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. A thematic analysis was performed to analyse the qualitative data.

Results: Five themes emerged regarding pressure injuries: (1) preventable yet unavoidable, (2) everyone's responsibility, (3) harmonising theory with practice reality, (4) pre-existing conditions may limit injury prevention and management; and (5) nurses expressed a need for experiential training.

Conclusions: The study's findings could be used to develop improvements in nursing practice and policy at acute care hospitals, as well as to improve awareness of medical device-related pressure injuries among healthcare professionals. Moreover, the findings can also inform future research studies to develop effective evidence-based practices and improve patient outcomes.

Relevance to the clinical practice: This study reveals the unique challenges and dilemmas that nurses face and will help to inform healthcare institutions and management in developing programmes and improving protocols to reduce the incidence rate of pressure injuries caused by medical device.

Keywords: experiences; medical device; nurses; nursing; perception; pressure injury.