Andrea Nelson

Glasgow Caledonian University | GCU · School of Health and Life Sciences

Background Participant non-response is a source of bias in all research, especially in randomised controlled trials. Participants followed up remotely can have high non-response rates. Four such trials have been conducted of a cover letter with content informed by behaviour change theory to overcome hypothesised barriers to responding to a mailed q...

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) often become infected and are treated with antimicrobials, with samples collected to inform care. Swab samples are easier than tissue sampling but report fewer organisms. Compared with culture and sensitivity (C&S) methods, molecular microbiology identifies more organisms. Clinician perspectives on sampling and processin...

Background Participant non-response is a source of bias in all research, especially in randomised controlled trials. Participants followed-up remotely can have high non-response rates. Four trials have been conducted of a cover letter with content informed by behaviour-change theory to overcome hypothesised barriers to responding to a mailed questi...

Background: Up to 1% of adults will have a leg ulcer at some time. Most leg ulcers are venous in origin and are caused by high pressure in the veins due to blockage or damaged valves. Venous ulcer prevention and treatment typically involves the application of compression bandages/stockings to improve venous return and thus reduce pressure in the l...

Objectives Many women attempt to manage urinary incontinence (UI) independently with variable success while health professionals may be unaware of their needs. This study aimed to (1) understand older women’s experiences of UI, their self-management strategies and support needs; (2) explore health professionals’ experiences of supporting women and...

Background: Heel pressure ulcers can cause pain, reduce mobility, lead to longer hospital stays and in severe cases can lead to sepsis, amputation, and death. Offloading boots are marketed as heel pressure ulcer prevention devices, working by removing pressure to the heel, yet there is little good quality evidence about their clinical effectivenes...

Background Pressure ulcers (PUs) impact on patient's quality of life and are costly for healthcare providers. Heels are a particular concern due to specific risk factors. Relative effectiveness of medical devices, e.g., dressings, off-loading devices, heel cushioning devices, to reduce PU development is unknown. Methods Systematic review of the ef...

Background Venous leg ulceration is a chronic, recurring, condition causing significant patient morbidity. Randomised controlled trials evaluating treatments for venous leg ulceration provide evidence for clinical decision-making. For trial findings to be useful, outcomes measured need to be clinically meaningful, and consistently and fully reporte...

Background PRESSURE 2 is a randomised evaluation of the clinical and cost-effectiveness of two types of mattress for the prevention of pressure ulcers (PUs). The primary clinical endpoint was time to development of a category ≥2 PU. The current ‘gold standard’ for PU identification is expert clinical assessment. Due to the mattress appearance, a bl...

Background A venous leg ulcer is a chronic leg wound caused by poor venous blood circulation in the lower limbs. It is a recurring condition causing pain, malodour, reduced mobility, and depression. Randomised controlled trials evaluating treatments for venous leg ulcers provide important evidence to inform clinical decision-making. However, for fi...

Abstract Background Urinary incontinence (UI) is a distressing condition that limits women’s quality of life and places a heavy burden on health care services. Behavioural treatments are recommended as a first-line treatment. An evidence-based self-management package was developed following the Medical Research Council (MRC) framework for complex i...

Background: Pressure ulcers (PUs) are complications of serious acute/chronic illness. Specialist mattresses used for prevention lack high quality effectiveness evidence. We aimed to compare clinical and cost effectiveness of 2 mattress types. Methods: Multicentre, Phase III, open, prospective, parallel group, randomised controlled trial in 42 UK...

Background Pressure ulcers (PUs) are a burden to patients, carers and health-care providers. Specialist mattresses minimise the intensity and duration of pressure on vulnerable skin sites in at-risk patients. Primary objective Time to developing a new PU of category ≥ 2 in patients using an alternating pressure mattress (APM) compared with a high-...

Objective: To synthesise the evidence for the multifaceted self-management interventions for older women with urinary incontinence (UI) and to understand the outcomes associated with these interventions. Design: A systematic review and narrative synthesis to identify randomised controlled trials that investigated the effect of multifaceted self-...

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: To assess the effects of hydrocolloid wound dressings for healing pressure ulcers in people in any care setting.

Aims: To determine clinical outcomes and explore prognostic factors related to ulcer healing in people with a clinically infected diabetic foot ulcer. Methods: This multicentre, prospective, observational study reviewed participants' data at 12 months after culture of a diabetic foot ulcer requiring antibiotic therapy. From participants' notes,...

This is a cross-tabulation of factors with a significant association (P<0.005). Table S1.

Objective To determine the extent of agreement and patterns of disagreement between wound swab and tissue samples in patients with an infected diabetic foot ulcer (DFU). Design Multicentre, prospective, cross-sectional study. Setting Primary and secondary care foot ulcer/diabetic outpatient clinics and hospital wards across England. Participants...

Background: At present there is no established national minimum data set (MDS) for generic wound assessment in England, which has led to a lack of standardisation and variable assessment criteria being used across the country. This hampers the quality and monitoring of wound healing progress and treatment. Aim: To establish a generic wound asses...

Aim: To test the psychometric properties and clinical usability of a new Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment Instrument including inter-rater and test-retest reliability, convergent validity and data completeness. Background: Methodological and practical limitations associated with traditional Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment Instruments, prompted a pr...

This protocol has been withdrawn from publication.

Background: PRESSURE 2 is a randomised evaluation of the clinical and cost effectiveness of two types of pressure relieving mattress for the prevention of pressure ulcers. The primary endpoint is the time to development of a Category ≥2 pressure ulcer. The current 'gold standard' for the identification of a Category ≥2 pressure ulcer is expert cli...

Background: Pressure ulcers represent a major burden to patients, carers and the healthcare system, affecting approximately 1 in 17 hospital and 1 in 20 community patients. They impact greatly on an individual's functional status and health-related quality of life. The mainstay of pressure ulcer prevention practice is the provision of pressure red...

Objective To explore pressure area related pain as a predictor of category ≥2 pressure ulcer (PU) development. Design Multicentre prospective cohort study. Setting UK hospital and community settings. Participants inclusion Consenting acutely ill patients aged ≥18 years, defined as high risk (Braden bedfast/chairfast AND completely immobile/very...

Background Variation in development methods of Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment Instruments has led to inconsistent inclusion of risk factors and concerns about content validity. A new evidenced-based Risk Assessment Instrument, the Pressure Ulcer Risk Primary Or Secondary Evaluation Tool - PURPOSE-T was developed as part of a National Institute for...

Background There is inadequate evidence to advise clinicians on the relative merits of swabbing versus tissue sampling of infected diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). Objectives To determine (1) concordance between culture results from wound swabs and tissue samples from the same ulcer; (2) whether or not differences in bacterial profiles from swabs and...

To compare data on time to healing from two separate cohorts: one treated with a new acellular synthetic matrix plus standard care (SC) and one matched from four large UK pragmatic, randomised controlled trials [venous leg ulcer (VLU) evidence network]. We introduce a new proof-of-concept strategy to a VLU clinical evidence network, propensity scor...

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To investigate the effects of oral nutritional supplements on venous leg ulcer healing in adults.

Introduction: Leg ulcers usually occur secondary to venous reflux or obstruction, but 20% of people with leg ulcers have arterial disease, with or without venous disorders. Between 1.5 and 3.0 in 1000 people have active leg ulcers. Prevalence increases with age to about 20 in 1000 people aged over 80 years. Methods and outcomes: We conducted a s...

Background: A critical issue for multicentre clinical studies is conducting site initiations, ensuring sites are trained in study procedures and comply with relevant governance requirements before they begin recruiting patients. How technology can support site initiations has not previously been explored. Objective: This study sought to evaluate...

The prevalence of foot ulcers in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been reported at almost 10 %. These foot ulcers often occur at multiple sites and are reoccurring, with the potential risk of infection increased due to RA diagnosis and disease modifying medications. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of clinical i...

The Pressure UlceR Programme Of reSEarch (PURPOSE) consisted of two themes. Theme 1 focused on improving our understanding of individuals’ and organisational risk factors and on improving the quality of risk assessments (work packages 1–3) and theme 2 focused on developing patient-reported outcome measures (work packages 4 and 5). Methods The prog...

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a progressive, degenerative disease of the central nervous system. People with advanced disease who have compromised mobility, activity, sensory and/or cognitive abilities are at risk of pressure ulcers. Having a pressure ulcer has a substantial impact on a person's quality of life; a generic pressure ulcer Health Related...

Depression is a debilitating condition affecting more than 350 million people worldwide (WHO 2012) with a limited number of evidence-based treatments. Drug treatments may be inappropriate due to side effects and cost, and not everyone can use talking therapies.There is a need for evidence-based treatments that can be applied across cultures and wit...

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To evaluate the effects of autolytic debridement in treating people with pressure ulcers.

Background Pressure ulcers are costly to the healthcare provider and can have a major impact on patient’s quality of life. One of the most distressing symptoms reported is pain. There is very little published data on the prevalence and details of pain experienced by patients with pressure ulcers, particularly in community populations. The study was...

AimTo agree a draft pressure ulcer risk factor Minimum Data Set to underpin the development of a new evidenced-based Risk Assessment Framework.BackgroundA recent systematic review identified the need for a pressure ulcer risk factor Minimum Data Set and development and validation of an evidenced-based pressure ulcer Risk Assessment Framework. This...

This paper discusses the critical determinants of pressure ulcer development and proposes a new pressure ulcer conceptual framework. Recent work to develop and validate a new evidence-based pressure ulcer risk assessment framework was undertaken. This formed part of a Pressure UlceR Programme Of reSEarch (RP-PG-0407-10056), funded by the National I...

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To determine the effects of pressure-relieving devices in preventing heel pressure ulcers.

This study focuses on the ways in which the organisational context can influence the development of severe pressure ulcers. Severe pressure ulcers are important indicators of failures in the organisation and delivery of treatment and care. We have a good understanding of patients' risk factors, but a poor understanding of the role played by the org...

pressure ulcers, 25-30% of which are on the heels are a major burden to patients and healthcare systems. A better understanding of factors associated with healing is required to inform treatment and research priorities. to identify patient and pressure ulcer characteristics associated with the healing of heel pressure ulcers.Study design and settin...

This study was conducted to determine the predictors of foot ulceration occurring in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) without diabetes. A multi-centre case control study was undertaken; participants were recruited from eight sites (UK). Cases were adults diagnosed with RA (without diabetes) and the presence of a validated foot ulcer, defined...

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common, chronic disorder that leads to decreased health-related quality of life and work productivity. Evidence-based treatment guidelines have not been able to give guidance on the effects of homeopathic treatment for IBS because no systematic reviews have been carried out to assess the effectiveness of homeopat...

Background: Participants with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) report that foot ulceration has an impact on their health-related quality of life (HRQL) across physical, social and psychological domains. What is not known is how experiences of healthcare provision influence HRQL. The present study set out to map the patent journey while integrating the im...

Patients with pressure ulcers (PUs) report that pain is their most distressing symptom, but there are few PU pain prevalence studies. We sought to estimate the prevalence of unattributed pressure area related pain (UPAR pain) which was defined asPain, soreness or discomfort reported by patients, on an "at risk" or PU skin site, reported at a patien...

To update the evidence for the relative effectiveness of the four-layer and short-stretch compression technologies used for the treatment of venous ulcers. Compression bandages are the most effective method for venous ulcer healing. Both four-layer and short-stretch compression are effective but the relative benefit of one over the other is not ful...

Background Patient-reported outcome (PRO) data are integral to patient care, policy decision making and healthcare delivery. PRO assessment in pressure ulcers is in its infancy, with few studies including PROs as study outcomes. Further, there are no pressure ulcer PRO instruments available. Methods We used gold-standard methods to develop and eva...

Background Changes in healthcare and ageing populations have led to an increasing emphasis on the provision of healthcare in the community. Quality initiatives in healthcare have led to a focus upon pressure ulcer rates. However, published data on pressure ulcer prevalence in a community setting is currently very limited. Objective The objective o...

This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To assess the effects of hydrocolloid wound dressings for healing pressure ulcers in people in any care setting.

Venous leg ulceration is a recurrent, chronic, disabling condition. It affects up to one in 100 people at some time in their lives. Standard treatments are simple dressings and compression bandages or stockings. Sometimes, despite treatment, ulcers remain open for months or years. Sometimes skin grafts are used to stimulate healing. These may be ta...

Objective: To identify risk factors independently predictive of pressure ulcer development in adult patient populations? Design: A systematic review of primary research was undertaken, based upon methods recommended for effectiveness questions but adapted to identify observational risk factor studies. Data sources: Fourteen electronic database...

Introduction Accurate identification of pathogens, rather than colonising bacteria, is a prerequisite for targeted antibiotic therapy to ensure optimal patient outcome in wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers. Wound swabs are the easiest and most commonly used sampling technique but most published guidelines recommend instead removal of a tissue sam...

Background: Venous leg ulcers affect up to 1% of people at some time in their lives and are often painful. The main treatments are compression bandages and dressings. Topical treatments to reduce pain during and between dressing changes are sometimes used. Objectives: To determine the effects of topical agents or dressings for pain in venous leg...

Background: Up to 1% of adults will have a leg ulcer at some time. The majority of leg ulcers are venous in origin and are caused by high pressure in the veins due to blockage or weakness of the valves in the veins of the leg. Prevention and treatment of venous ulcers is aimed at reducing the pressure either by removing/repairing the veins, or by...

Decisions on local and systemic wound treatment vary among surgeons and are frequently based on expert opinion. The aim of this meta-review was to compile best available evidence from systematic reviews in order to formulate conclusions to support evidence-based decisions in clinical practice. All Cochrane systematic reviews (CSRs), published by th...

This chapter addresses the fundamental role of nurses in the prevention of skin breakdown. Every nurse should possess the knowledge and skills to identify people at risk of skin breakdown, to select and implement strategies to maintain skin integrity, and to review the effectiveness of these to inform any necessary changes in care. Skin breakdown i...