Primary home caregiver training and pressure injury prevention knowledge after patient discharge from a Level 5 Hospital in Kenya

Abstract

Introduction

Pressure injuries are wounds on the skin, after hours of sitting, or lying in the same position. The global incidence of home acquired pressure injuries could be as high as 80%, yet home caregivers’ pressure injury prevention knowledge is not clearly known. The specific objectives of this study were to assess the socio-demographic characteristics of primary home care givers, and patients at risk of pressure injuries, and to evaluate the effect of primary home caregiver training, on pressure injury prevention knowledge, after their bedridden patients were discharged from hospital.

Methods

This was part of a randomized controlled trial, whose broad objective was to assess the impact of a home caregiver training program, on prevention of pressure injuries among patients discharged from Embu Level Five Teaching and Referral Hospital, Kenya. The overall sample size was 34 primary home caregivers whereby, 17 of them were randomly assigned into experimental group, and 17 were assigned into the control group. Research permit was obtained from NACOSTI (Licence No: NACOSTI/P/22/21760). Data was collected using a researcher administered questionnaire, developed based on national and international pressure injury prevention guidelines. The pre training and post training pressure injury prevention knowledge mean scores, in the experimental group, were compared.  Data was analyzed using SPSS version 27.

Findings

Majority (88.2%) of the primary home caregivers were female, with a mean age of 37.06±11.5SD years, while majority of the patients (76.5%) were female, with a mean age of 78.4±18.7 years. The pre training pressure injury prevention knowledge mean score was 11.11±11.11SD, while the post training pressure injury prevention knowledge mean score was 37.3±10.4. These two knowledge mean scores were significantly different, at 95% confidence level (t=10.376, df=16, p<0.001).

Conclusions and recommendations

Most of the primary home care givers were youthful females, while most of the patients were old females. Primary home caregiver training significantly improved the knowledge on pressure injury prevention, and more resources should be geared towards capacity building of these primary home caregivers, in readiness for home based care of patients at risk of pressure injuries.