Background

Pressure ulcers, also known as bed sores or pressure sores, are often experienced by those who find it difficult to walk and spend long periods of time sitting or lying down. Pressure ulcers can range from patches of discoloured, painful skin, to open wounds that can take a long time to heal. Pressure ulcers are prone to infection and have a great impact on people’s health and well being. To stop these ulcers from developing in people who are at risk, healthcare staff need to be well informed about how to prevent them. It is important to understand what type of information healthcare staff need, how it might best be delivered to them and whether education can prevent pressure ulcers from developing.

Review question

We reviewed the evidence about the effect of the education of healthcare professionals on the prevention of pressure ulcers. We explored all types of education regardless of how it was delivered as long as it focused on preventing pressure ulcers. Healthcare staff included all staff working in pressure ulcer prevention from any professional background. Settings where the care was provided included hospital inpatient and outpatient departments, community clinics, patients’ own homes, and residential or nursing care homes.

What we found

In June 2017 we searched for studies evaluating the effect of the education of healthcare professionals on pressure ulcer prevention, and found five relevant studies. Two studies explored the impact of education on the prevention of pressure ulcers. We are uncertain whether education of healthcare professionals makes any difference to the number of new pressure ulcers that develop. This is because the certainty of the evidence within the studies was very low.

Three studies explored the impact of education on staff knowledge of pressure ulcer prevention. The studies compared: education versus no education; components of educational intervention in a number of combinations; and education delivered in different formats. We are uncertain whether education makes any difference to staff knowledge of pressure ulcer prevention, or to the number of new pressure ulcers that develop. This is because the certainty of the evidence within the studies was very low. No study explored the impact of education on the treatment provided by health professionals. Only one study explored the secondary outcomes of interest: pressure ulcer severity, patients’ views on their quality of life and carers’ views on the patients’ ability to carry out daily tasks independently. However, there was not enough information provided within the study to enable our independent assessment of these outcomes.

We examined the certainty of the evidence using the GRADE approach and concluded that all of the evidence was of very low certainty. Therefore we are unable to determine whether education can prevent pressure ulcers. We are also unable to determine whether education affects the knowledge that healthcare staff possess about preventing pressure ulcers.

The evidence of this review is up-to-date as of 12 June 2017.