Pressure ulcer patients help set the research agenda

A new survey asks patients, carers and clinicians to rate the importance of questions about the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers to inform future research.

Pressure ulcers – pressure sores or bed sores - are hard-to-heal wounds that are painful for patients and distressing for both them and their carers. A wide range of interventions are available for their treatment and management, but evidence of their effectiveness remains limited.

The James Lind Alliance Pressure Ulcer Priority Setting Partnership (JLAPUP), which includes charities, patients, clinicians and health scientists from the Universities of York and Manchester, is conducting a new survey to find out which questions about prevention and treatment matter most to those most affected. Between January and May 2012 the partnership asked patients, carers and clinicians where they would like to see further research or where they thought there was uncertainty about the best medical and nursing care. Nearly 1,000 questions about pressure ulcer prevention and treatment were gathered. Questions were checked to find whether existing research already provides a reliable and complete answer. Patients, carers and clinicians are now being asked to judge the importance of the most frequently asked questions for which there are no reliable answers.

JLAPUP – which is funded by a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Programme Grant, as part of the Wounds Research for Patient Benefit Programme (WRPB) at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust in collaboration with the University of York’s Department of Health Sciences and the University of Manchester’s School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work– needs as many patients, carers and clinicians as possible to take part in its prioritisation survey.

The survey can be completed online or on paper via the post, and responses will help to identify the top ten prevention and top ten treatment questions which will finally be chosen by March 2013.

For further information or to take part in the survey visit www.jlapressureulcerpartnership.co.uk or contact Richard Morley on 01904 321105.