Nurses' Clinical Decision-Making About Pressure Injury Prevention in Hospital Settings: A Scoping Review.

AIM

To systematically explore research on nurses' clinical decision-making and factors influencing pressure injury prevention in hospitalised patients.

DESIGN

Scoping review.

DATA SOURCES

Medline full text, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature Plus with full text, and Scopus.

METHODS

Arksey and O'Malley's five-step framework guided this scoping review. Studies published prior to 11 July 2024 were included.

RESULTS

Thirty-eight studies were included. The factors influencing nurses' decision-making in pressure injury prevention included: 'support systems', 'knowledge and attitudes', 'barriers to implementing prevention practices' and 'risk assessment tools and clinical judgement'. Limited research was conducted on nurses' clinical decision-making about implementation of pressure injury prevention interventions.

CONCLUSION

More research on nurses' clinical decision-making related to pressure injury prevention is needed to enhance education, support effective care and reduce the incidence of pressure injuries.

IMPACT

Nurses recognise the importance of preventing pressure injuries, however implementation of pressure injury prevention interventions are inconsistent, and pressure injuries remain common in hospitals. Limited research exists on the processes nurses use to make clinical decisions about pressure injury prevention for hospitalised adults at risk of pressure injury.

REPORTING METHOD

This scoping review adhered to the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No patient or public contribution.