MEDmobility Education Day

Jennifer Bourret

Brenlee Mogul-Rotman

Anna Sokol

Wheeled Mobility and Pressure Injuries: Equipment considerations and strategies for the high-risk client

It is well-established through research findings and recent global data that pressure injuries can have a devastating impact on both the individual and the economics of healthcare delivery systems. People who use wheelchairs as their primary mobility device are often at a higher risk simply because they are sitting for long periods of time with less opportunity to change positions and surfaces. As stakeholders on the team, clinicians, equipment suppliers, and funding agencies must be knowledgeable about client risk factors involved, as well as product design characteristics and strategies used to mitigate these risks. Wheelchair seating and bed surfaces, as well as recommendations for best use of these surfaces, must be considered when products are selected as part of an individual’s pressure management program.

This course will review the science behind pressure injuries and up-to-date research that supporting current best practice recommendations. The course will focus on how the wheelchair dependent client’s level of risk impacts the choices of surfaces- within the wheelchair and outside of the wheelchair. Pressure distribution strategies will be reviewed, as well as the role of differing support surface material and geometry characteristics. Participants will be provided with intervention strategy suggestions to incorporate into their daily practice.

By the end of the presentation, participants will be able to:

• Identify 3 extrinsic risk factors that may contribute to a client developing a pressure injury
• Describe 3 strategies of pressure redistribution to consider when selecting surfaces for pressure management
• Explain and dispel two common pressure injury myths.
• List 2 interventions for consideration when a client is identified as high risk of developing a pressure injury.