Organisational strategies to implement hospital pressure ulcer prevention programmes: findings from a national survey

Aim To describe the presence and operationalisation of organisational strategies to support implementation of pressure ulcer prevention programmes across acute care hospitals in a large, integrated health‐care system. Background Comprehensive pressure ulcer programmes include nursing interventions such as use of a risk assessment tool and organisational strategies such as policies and performance monitoring to embed these interventions into routine care. The current literature provides little detail about strategies used to implement pressure ulcer prevention programmes. Methods Data were collected by an e‐mail survey to all chief nursing officers in Veterans Health Administration acute care hospitals. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were used to summarise survey responses and evaluate relationships between some variables. Results Organisational strategies that support implementation of a pressure ulcer prevention programme (policy, committee, staff education, wound care specialists, and use of performance data) were reported at high levels. Considerable variations were noted in how these strategies were operationalised within individual hospitals. Conclusion Organisational strategies to support implementation of pressure ulcer preventive programmes are often not optimally operationalised to achieve consistent, sustainable performance. Implications for nursing management The results of the present study highlight the role and influence of nurse leaders on pressure ulcer prevention program implementation.