Factors Related to the Prevalence of Pressure Ulcers Among Residents in Korean Nursing Homes

PURPOSE: Pressure ulcers (PUs) are serious health outcomes for nursing home (NH) residents and are considered important nursing sensitive quality indicators, as professional nursing care can prevent PUs. The purpose of the current study was to investigate related factors of PUs for NH residents. METHOD: A cross-sectional design was used. From August 27, 2021, to March 25, 2022, data were collected from 51 NHs in Korea. Facility, nurse staffing, and resident characteristics were selected as inde-pendent variables. The response variable was the number of residents with PUs in the 3 months follow-ing admission in each NH. RESULTS: We used sparse logistic regression to analyze the data. Mean number of residents with PUs per NH was 1.12 (SD = 2.13). When RNs’ hours per resident day increased by 1 hour, the number of residents with PUs decreased 0.011 times (p = 0.046). When the ratio of grade 1 residents in each NH increased 1%, the odds of residents with PUs increased 13% (p = 0.036). CONCLUSION: Providing high-quality, nursing sensitive care is an essential factor to decrease PUs for NH residents. Providing sufficient RN care is urgently necessary to develop solutions to preventable health conditions for these individuals.