Pressure Injury in Persons with Lived Experience of Spinal Cord Injury
Pressure injuries in persons with lived experience of spinal cord injury (SCI) are commonplace, with approximately 95% experiencing at least one pressure injury in their lifetime. A pressure injury is defined as localized damage to the skin and tissues, commonly occurring as a result of intense and/or prolonged pressure or shear. While pressure injuries occur in many patient populations, pressure injuries in those with a SCI can be catastrophic and give rise to enormous healthcare costs and significant morbidity and mortality. Despite their frequency, the experiences of those living with pressure injury and SCI are not well understood.
When Patient Co-lead Spring Hawes shared her personal health journey, she described how her pressure injury, and her experience of enforced prone bed rest without a predetermined end point, was more traumatic than the SCI itself. Her experiences challenged the team to think differently about pressure injury, deconstruct our presuppositions, and to work collaboratively to design research that would allow for the discovery and reimagining of the patient journey. The overarching goal of this research is to contribute diverse perspectives of pressure injury in adults with traumatic SCI and to generate patient-driven and patient-oriented priorities to catalyze future research that optimizes the health of Canadians with SCI. To do so, we will apply a synergistic mixed methods approach to undertake a two-phase study to map and explore the needs, values, and priorities of patients. Specifically, we plan to: 1) Examine the experiences of pressure injury in adults with traumatic SCI; and 2) Develop patient-driven priorities to catalyze and inform future patient-oriented research (POR). Our research directly aligns with the strategic priorities of the CIHR, that emphasize the need for meaningful engagement of patients in research. We anticipate that the findings of this research will generate actionable POR that improves the care and support of persons with SCI that are at risk of or living with a pressure injury.
knowledge translation outputs
Click here to read this project’s Evidence Report
Click here to read this project’s Action Report
