You will prepare and submit a term paper on Methods in Health. Your paper should be a minimum of 3000 words in length.

You will prepare and submit a term paper on Methods in Health. Your paper should be a minimum of 3000 words in length. It will be assessed whether changes can be supported in healthcare practice when applied. There will be an analysis of whether the evidence found in this report in respect to the healing of pressure ulcers could be effective in practice and there will be a discussion of factors influencing EBP. There will also be the direction of the search process used to find the research used in such a way that it may be replicated and applied in practice.

I am currently working on an oncology ward, on which patients eat and drink little and remain bedridden for most of the time, and as a result are at high risk of pressure ulcers. Indeed, many of the patients develop pressure ulcers after admission, which are extremely difficult to heal (Mackleburst & Sieggreen, 2001). I chose the current topic as a way of discovering how they may be better cared for. This includes the problem of cost to the NHS each year for the treatment of pressure ulcers. I will research this issue to see if there is any equipment available which will help the healing of bedridden patients who suffer from pressure ulcers and also to prevent future patents from developing pressure ulcers. The question is: Which equipment is available in effectively reducing pressure ulcers for patients?

A pressure ulcer is ‘an area of localised damage to the skin and to the underlying tissue caused by pressure, shear or friction’ (European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel 2003). The higher the intensity of pressure and the longer the duration of pressure, the higher the risk of developing pressure ulcers. Individual ‘tissue tolerance’ will also determine whether pressure ulcers develop (DeFloor and DeSchumer, 2000). It is reported that pressure ulcers develop in up to 32% of hospitalised adult patients and will be on or around bony areas such as the sacrum (Murdock, 2002. Jones and Tweed, 2001). The financial costs to the National Health Service are considered to be substantial. it is estimated that 1.4 to 2.1 billion is spent annually, which is 4% of the NHS budget (Bennett et al, 2004).&nbsp.&nbsp.