Pressure ulcer prevention: Interventions aimed at reducing pressure

Pressure is the major causative factor in pressure ulcer formation. Thus, it is important to assess the mechanical risk factors in order to reduce pressure. This update introduces three main areas of intervention that are used to evaluate, minimize, and redistribute pressure. After testing clinical reliability and validity, our results suggest that a new user-friendly multi-pad pressure evaluator is an objective method that may be better at evaluating the interface pressure levels associated with mechanical loading rather than the traditional "Hand Check" method currently used in both hospital and homecare settings. In selecting the proper support surface for a patient, we determined that the patient's mobility, extent of bony prominence, degree of head-elevation, and the amount of caregiver support available as the primary criteria to consider when selecting a support surface for a patient. The importance of body position, the necessity of position change, and the influence of specific positioning, in particular, the 30-degree rule, the prone position, and heel-elevation are also discussed.