Pressure injury prevalence in Australian & New Zealand hospitals : Systematic review protocol

Background: Pressure injuries are a global, largely preventable problem. Pressure injuries, and their complications are associated with higher morbidity and mortality rates and place a financial strain on health care systems. Pressure injury prevalence studies are conducted regularly within hospitals in Australia and New Zealand, however there is no consensus on the prevalence rate of pressure injuries in these settings. This lack of data synthesis limits the ability of healthcare organisations to evaluate pressure injury practice against national and international benchmarks.

Aim: To synthesise data on the prevalence of pressure injuries within Australian and New Zealand Hospitals.

Method and analysis: A systematic review of published and grey literature will be undertaken using a two-phase search. Studies will be assessed for inclusion and the Joanna Briggs Institute Appraisal Checklist for Studies Reporting Prevalence Data will be used to assess source quality by multiple authors. Data extraction will be undertaken independently by two authors. Data synthesis will be completed using STATA software and the METAPROP command and where numerical synthesis is not possible, data will be summarised in narrative form. The overall prevalence of pressure injuries will be quantified, and a narrative synthesis of additional outcomes will be undertaken.

Discussion: Inclusion of both published and grey literature in this review will enable a precise estimate of pressure injury prevalence rates in these settings to be determined. A narrative review of the methodology used in included studies will also be completed with recommendations made on best practices to promote accurate data collection.

© 2019 Australian College of Nursing Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd.