Ulcer Development Research Paper

The integumentary function decreases with age and the elderly, in particular, are susceptible to greater risks of impaired skin as their skin becomes more fragile and lead to pressure ulcer development. The purpose of this research study was to determine if there is a single factor that can explain the pressure ulcer risk, or if there is a complex interplay of factors that increases the risk factor for the development of a pressure ulcer. The research question that is asked is: “To identify risk factors independently predictive of pressure ulcer development in adult patient populations?” (Coleman et al., 2013) The review of the literature and research question correlated the literature and includes information on pressure ulcers as a worldwide problem among adults in various clinical settings. The three primary risk factors for ulcer development are mobility/activity, perfusion including diabetes, and skin/pressure ulcer status. The research has deemed that there is a need for a better assessment scale where multivariable analyses can identify factors that are independently associated with pressure ulcer development. …show more content…
Within the sample population, the patients included were those in intensive care, surgery, trauma, acute care, long-term rehabilitation, and nursing home populations. There were 5462 abstracts retrieved, 365 identified as potentially eligible and 54 fulfilled the eligibility criteria. The 54 studies included 34,449 patients and acute and community patient populations. Seventeen studies were classified as high or moderate quality, while 37 studies had inadequate numbers of pressure ulcers and other methodological limitations (Coleman et al.