Development of an Interdisciplinary Healthcare Team for Pressure Injury Management: A Quality Improvement Project

PURPOSE: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to create an interdisciplinary healthcare team for the management of patients with stage 3, stage 4, and unstageable pressure injuries (PIs), improve the communication among the interdisciplinary healthcare team, test the educational level of the nursing staff regarding PI management, and conduct quarterly PI prevalence surveys to decrease the rate of the hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs). PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Patients with stage 3, stage 4, and unstageable PIs in medical adult inpatient units of a private tertiary hospital located in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia were included in the study. APPROACH: During the project period (February 21, 2017, to May 23, 2017), a healthcare team was formed consisting of a hospitalist, a plastic surgeon, a case manager, a dietitian, a physiotherapist, and wound and home health nurses. The team communication and staff adherence to the care plan were measured through an audit tool. Nurses' educational level was measured by pre-and posttest assessments. In addition, a quarterly PI survey day was conducted twice to monitor the occurrence of HAPIs and to reevaluate nursing staff knowledge of management of HAPIs. OUTCOMES: Results showed improvement in communication within the interdisciplinary team regarding care of patients with HAPIs, with 100% staff adherence to the plan of care. In addition, unit-based educational sessions conducted to measure staff knowledge showed a statistically significant increase (P <.000). Although small, the HAPI rate decreased from 5.9% to 5% during this short 3-month study.