Research Article Review
This is a research article that elaborates on the high costs that associated with the treatment of pressure ulcers. The results that are indicated in this article are said to be important in the healthcare sector as they help in the overall planning and budgeting that is essential in the implementation of preventive measures meant to address this medical condition. It is indicated that data about the current cost of prevention and treatment of pressure ulcer in Flanders, Belgium is not available (Demarré et al. 1166-1179). The study was conducted in both hospitals and nursing homes that offer medical services that are directed to treatment and prevention of pressure ulcers.
Research Question
There lacks a specific research question for this article, but the aim of the research is to examine the costs that are involved in both treatment and prevention of pressure ulcers using a payer perceptive in both hospitals and nursing homes.
Design Sample
A person-based approach was used in this research study to determine the number of resources that members of the community spend when treating and managing pressure ulcers. This was suitable design that was used in this study as it helped in determining both the direct and indirect costs that are involved. This also gave a chance to review and get details of both medical and non-medical costs that are involved in treatment and prevention of this disease.
Sample of Study
Forty-eight hospitals and eighty-four nursing homes in Flanders were selected and used for this study. The sample was big enough to help obtain varied data about costs of medication and treatment of pressure ulcer. This is allowed for comparison of data obtained various sources to get a generalized view that applied across all health facilities to get a clear idea of the specific charges involved. This was a good sample size that allowed for extensive analysis of the healthcare sector to determine the real trends and economics involved in treatment and prevention of pressure ulcers.
Data Collection Methods
Prospective multi-centre cross-sectional studies were utilized in this study. The first study on pressure ulcer prevalence was done in April 2008 in hospitals. The second study on the same was done in March 2012 in nursing homes. A third study was done between November 2012 and April 2013 in hospitals to determine the costs of materials that are involved when treating and preventing pressure ulcers. The last study was conducted between May and September 2012 to get details of the costs of materials and labor that are involved in nursing homes. This was an elaborate manner in which this study was spread out to sufficiently cover all sectors of healthcare that deal and handle treatment and prevention option of pressure ulcers. The four multi-centered studies were enough to gather sufficient data useful for this research study.
Limitations
Underestimation of costs involved in severe pressure ulcers was one of the limitations of this study. The exact cost could not be achieved during this study and this was a major limitation to the objective of this study. There also lacked empirical data that would help reveal the percentages of both mattress overlays and replacements. It was hard to collect data that would help determine the length of stay in hospitals or nursing home during treatment of pressure ulcers. The percentage of patients on which risk assessment was done was not known for the hospitals and nursing homes selected for this study. These limitations were major drawbacks for this study and chances are high that the quality of results generated will be affected to truly explain the trends involved in treatment and prevention of pressure ulcers.
Findings
It was found that the average cost for pressure ulcer treatment was 7.88 pounds per hospitalized patient at risk per day and 2.15 pounds per nursing home resident at risk per day. For patients not considered to be at risk, the mean cost of treatment was 1.44 pounds per day in hospitals and 0.50 pounds for those in nursing homes. Labor was determined to be the main driver in these costs as it accounted for 79 to 85% of the total cost involved in prevention.
Summary
This is a research article that investigates the costs of treatment and prevention of pressure ulcers by investigating both the hospitals and nursing homes. The multi-centered cross-sectional studies are used to conduct the study in 48 hospitals and 84 nursing homes. The costs for treatment and prevention in Flanders is determined to be lower in this study compared with the costs indicated in other international studies and these differences are attributed to methodological differences.
The selection and results of this article are not suitable when used in planning and budgeting procedures in the healthcare sector. This is because the findings are found to differ with what other international studies have revealed on the same. This means that chances are higher that wrong decisions will be made based on these findings. There is a need to give attention to what other international studies have indicated when developing a suitable budgetary plan that will be used.
Reference:
Demarré, Liesbet et al. “The Cost Of Pressure Ulcer Prevention And Treatment In Hospitals And
Nursing Homes In Flanders: A Cost-Of-Illness Study”. International Journal of Nursing Studies 52.7 (2015): 1166-1179. Web.
