Skin Integrity

** NOTE: this website will be shutting down in 2019. All resources have been moved to the Spinal Cord Injury Research Evidence (SCIRE) Project website: https://scireproject.com/clinical-resources/health-care-providers/ **

Please email clinical [AT] rickhanseninstitute [DOT] org with any questions. 

Variations in the quality of care for people with SCI may increase the incidence of costly ongoing secondary complications such as pressure ulcers. Individuals with SCI have a life-long risk of developing pressure ulcers with 95% of them developing at least one sometime during their lifetime. Currently, pressure ulcers cost the Canadian healthcare system somewhere between 173 and 355.4 million dollars annually, and have a negative impact on quality of life.

 RHSCIR 2.0: Toolkit for Skin Integrity Assessment

• Toolkit you can read online
• Complete printable toolkit (PDF)
• Clinical pressure ulcer assessment form (PDF)

Skin Integrity Facility Report

This report is available now! Click here to access these reports. 

It includes information about pressure ulcer rates, staging and impact onlength of stay. It compares your facility to the national average of facilities like yours (acute compared with acute and rehab compared with rehab).

For more information about these reports, click here.

Skin Integrity Resources 

• NEW The SCIRE project has developed educational videos on the braden scale, pressure ulcer staging and wound assessment.
• Canadian Best Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Pressure Ulcers in People with Spinal Cord Injury
  
  • For your patients, they have developed a consumer guide to pressure ulcers based on the guideline
• The National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP) in the USA is the premier voice in the staging of wounds. Their website has a wealth of knowledge for health care professionals.
  • NPUAP has the Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing (PUSH), which is a non-SCI specific way to measure the healing of wounds.
• The Canadian Association of Wound Care has resources and guidelines for the assessment and treatment of wounds. The BC Provinicial Nursing Skin and Wound Care Committee supports a community of practice with current updates on documentation, decision support tools and treatment techniques
• The Braden Scale is used by most sites for the assessment of pressure sore risk.
• A SCI-specific pressure ulcer risk assessment, the Spinal Cord Injury Pressure Ulcer Scale (SCIPUS), is also available.
• The Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Evidence Project has evidence-based information on the assessment and treatment of pressure ulcers
• Continence is one of the most important factors for skin hygiene. The National Association for Continence has a review of the aspects of Continence Care for People Living with Spinal Cord Injury.
• sci-u.ca is a patient resource for those living with SCI. They have an online course that covers skin health for patients.

Assessment Forms and Chart Inserts here you'll find examples of pre-printed orders, policies and guidelines as well as assessment and charting sheets relating to skin integrity assessment and treatment.