DIET & NUTRITION 
PATIENT EDUCATION 
OBESITY/WEIGHT MANAGEMENT 
EXERCISE/TRAINING 
LEGAL MATTERS 
GUIDELINES/RECOMMENDATIONS Alberta survey of 161 acute care patients and caregivers found 69.6% received no PI prevention education during admission. Patients who didn’t hear about their PI risk had 3.31 times higher odds of reporting a pressure injury.
Key Clinical Considerations
- Most patients enter the hospital already familiar with PIs, yet 53.4% reported never hearing about PI risk from staff during admission
- Patients and caregivers ranked brochures, pamphlets, and verbal information as the most useful resources; social media and apps ranked lowest in this older population
- Exercise and mobility were the least common prevention activities patients engaged in, despite hospitalized patients spending 87-100% of time in bed or sitting
- Caregivers spend more time with patients than any single staff member and are an underused advocacy resource at the bedside
Practice Applications
- Tell every at-risk patient their PI risk verbally at admission, not just in the chart
- Hand patients a printed PI prevention pamphlet and walk through it at the bedside
- Coach patients and family on repositioning, hydration, and skin checks they can do themselves
- Coordinate with PT, OT, and rehab daily to get at-risk patients out of bed and moving
