Patient perceptions and understanding of pressure ulcer risk in the community: empirical research qualitative

Aims: To explore patient perceptions and understanding of their pressure ulcer risk and how information is communicated between a nurse and patient in the home setting.Design: A pragmatic qualitative research design including community-dwelling patients, who were deemed at risk of developing a pressure ulcer.Methods: Observation of routine interactions between nurse and patient regarding their pressure ulcer risk and semi-structured interviews with 15 community patients following the nursing interaction.Results: Four key overarching themes emerged from the data analysis that were related to patient perceptions and understanding of pressure ulcer risk. These included Pressure Ulcer Awareness, Importance of Repositioning, Healthy Eating and Risk Interpretation.Conclusion: Patient perception and understanding of pressure ulcer risk is different from the scientific, professional view. Patient risk perception was based on heuristics and wider personal factors and social influences.Impact: The study provides important new insights into clinical practice in relation to how pressure ulcer advice and information are provided and interpreted in the community setting.REPORTING METHOD: Adhered to the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: A small selection of patients within the NHS Trust in which the research was conducted contributed to the design of the study, in particular some of the interview questions and timing.