Lifestyle Changes and Pressure Ulcer Prevention in Adults With Spinal Cord Injury in the Pressure Ulcer Prevention Study Lifestyle Intervention

• DOI: 10.5014/ajot.2015.012021
• Publication Date: 2014-12-29T15:30:47Z
• Authors: Samruddhi Ghaisas; Elizabeth A. Pyatak; Erna Blanche; Jeanine Blanchard; Florence Clark
• Keywords: Adult; Male; Pressure Ulcer; Middle Aged; Rehabilitation Centers; California; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Activities of Daily Living; Disease Progression; Humans; Female; 0305 other medical science; Life Style; Spinal Cord Injuries

Abstract Pressure ulcers (PrUs) are a major burden to patients with spinal cord injury (SCI), affecting their psychological, physical, and social well-being. Lifestyle choices are thought to contribute to the risk of developing PrUs. This article focuses on the interaction between lifestyle choices and the development of PrUs in community settings among participants in the University of Southern California–Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center Pressure Ulcer Prevention Study (PUPS II), a randomized controlled trial of a lifestyle intervention for adults with SCI. We conducted a secondary cross-case analysis of treatment notes of 47 PUPS II participants and identified four patterns relating PrU development to lifestyle changes: positive PrU changes (e.g., healing PrUs) with positive lifestyle changes, negative or no PrU changes with positive lifestyle changes, positive PrU changes with minor lifestyle changes, and negative or no PrU changes with no lifestyle changes. We present case studies exemplifying each pattern.