Tobiano, Georgia, Campbell, Jill, Allen, Gary, Coyer, Fiona, Gillespie, Brigid M., Moore, Zena, Nowicki, Tracy, Walker, Rachel M., and Chaboyer, Wendy (2023) End‐user perceptions of sub‐epidermal moisture scanning (SEMS) acceptability: A descriptive qualitative study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 79 (8). pp. 2992-3001.

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Abstract

Aims: To assess patients' and nurses' perceptions and experiences of subepidermal moisture scanning acceptability.

Design: Descriptive, qualitative, sub-study, embedded within a pilot randomized control trial.

Methods: Ten patients who were in the intervention arm of the pilot trial and 10 registered nurses providing care for these patients on medical-surgical units participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Data were collected from October 2021 to January 2022. Interviews were analysed using inductive qualitative content analysis, and perspectives (patient and nurse), were triangulated.

Results: Four categories were found. The first category ‘Subepidermal moisture scanning is acceptable as part of care’ showed that patients and nurses were willing to use subepidermal moisture scanning and viewed subepidermal moisture scanning as non-burdensome. The category ‘Subepidermal moisture scanning may improve pressure injury outcomes’ demonstrated that although subepidermal moisture scanning was believed to prevent pressure injuries, more research evidence about its benefits was required. ‘Subepidermal moisture scanning augments existing pressure injury prevention practices’, the third category, highlighted that subepidermal moisture scanning aligns with current pressure injury prevention practices while making these practices more patient-centred. In the final category, ‘Important considerations when making subepidermal moisture scanning routine practice’, practical issues were raised relating to training, guidelines, infection control, device availability and patient modesty.

Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that using subepidermal moisture scanning is acceptable for patients and nurses. Building the evidence base for subepidermal moisture scanning and then addressing practical issues prior to implementation, are important next steps. Our research suggests that subepidermal moisture scanning enhances individualized and patient-centred care, persuasive reasons to continue investigating subepidermal moisture scanning.

Item ID:	84152
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1365-2648
Copyright Information:	© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Advanced Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
Funders:	National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
Projects and Grants:	NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence Grant APP1196436
Date Deposited:	26 Nov 2024 02:24
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