Mapping and Intervention for Preventing Pressure Injury. Jessi Wenzel, University of Michigan--Flint; Faculty Sponsors: Janet Barnfather, Department of Nursing, University of Michigan-Flint; Maureen Thum, Department of English, University of Michigan-Flint, Flint, MI 48502 Pressure ulcers, commonly known as bedsores or decubitus ulcers, are a breakdown in skin integrity due to poor nutrition, moisture, incontinence, friction, sheering forces, pressure from immobility, and even dementia. They are a widespread problem in health care settings. According to Tilus (2001), "an estimated 1.7 million Americans developed pressure ulcers in 1999--70% of which occurred in the acute care setting." Decubitus ulcers have been addressed in research projects over an extended period, but there are still gaps in the knowledge base. The present paper focuses on pressure injury research conducted at three sites in Australia. Each participant was placed on a pressure sensor mat on a standard hospital mattress for ten minutes with a laser Doppler on his sacrum. Pressure levels were monitored every minute along with blood flow to the sacrum. The patient was then placed on another mattress chosen at random, either the standard hospital mattress or one of two pressure relieving mattress types. The monitoring process was then repeated. While previous research has dealt with healthy patients and therefore given misleading results, the current study includes patients in all ranges and states of health.
