Research: Wound Management

Our Projects

Skin tears are the third largest group of all wounds, occur more commonly in the elderly and are mostly preventable, according to a 3 year prevalence study of public hospitals in Western Australia. (WoundsWest 2009)

A skin tear is a traumatic wound occuring principally on the extremities of older adults, as a result of friction alone or shearing and friction forces which seperate the epidermis from the dermis (partial thickness wound) or which seperate both the dermis from underlying structures (full thickness wound. (Payne, R., & Martin, M. 1993)

The first of our projects, which will commence in June 2011, will focus on the impact of hospital acquired skin tears in the Greenslopes Private Hospital. The components of the study include:

• a GPH staff survey

• a 6 month skin tear incidence survey

• a wound prevention equipment survey

It is estimated that there will be over 150 patients incurring skin tears, in the GPH, during this period, based on statistics from previous years. The results of the information collected from the above surveys will be used to determine skin tear prevention strategies to be trialled in 2012