Management of Pressure Ulcers in Palliative Care (HS5)

Supervisory team:

Professor Dan Bader, Dr Pete Worsley, Dr Lisette Shoonhoven & Professor Alison Richardson

Project Summary:

Palliative care is designed to provide relief from suffering and enhance the quality of both the living and dying processes for the patient and family.

Pressure ulcers are known to occur during end of life and are often not preventable due to the patient’s frail condition. Indeed, locally recent data collection from the tissue viability service at Southampton General Hospital showed a prevalence of up to 60% of patients had pressure ulcers in a palliative care setting.

Many healthcare professionals agree that it may be impossible to eradicate pressure ulcers from terminally ill patients because of the multiple risk factors and comorbid conditions seen in the patients. Pressure ulcer development, however, can decrease quality of life physically, emotionally, socially, and mentally. A recent White Paper developed by the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP) highlighted the lack of evidence surrounding the prevention and management of pressure ulcers in palliative care patients.

Future research is needed for the following:

1) Scientifically identify the characteristics of the patient receiving palliative care and what makes a pressure ulcer unlikely to heal while not limiting quality of life.

2) A validated tool or process for healthcare providers to determine the value of healing versus non-healing in these patients is needed.

This information could lead to the appreciation of non-healing objectives while maintaining comfort, dignity, and quality of life for the patient receiving palliative care.

Project Detail:

The Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southampton working in partnership with University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, is offering a Clinical Academic Doctoral Fellowship for a qualified nurse.

The successful candidate will spend two days per week as a Band 5 Registered Nurse in cancer services, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust and 3 days per week working on the PhD research study. You will join a thriving and expanding group of Clinical Academic Doctoral Fellows based at the Clinical Academic Facility, Southampton General Hospital for the academic component of the Fellowship.

The Fellowship is for 4 years will begin in September 2013. You will be supported by an annual £14,000 stipend and an additional sum of £800 to support additional training and development costs during the Fellowship.

This is an exciting opportunity and will enable aspiring individuals to combine clinical practice with a research role, working across the University and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. The successful candidate will work with their nominated clinical mentor and a Faculty of Health Sciences academic mentor in a tri-partite arrangement to develop their clinical academic role in both practice and University settings.

It is essential that you have successfully achieved a 2:1 or a Postgraduate Diploma distinction in nursing. It would be desirable if you have achieved a 1st class honours degree.

Further information can be found in our FAQ document at:
http://www.southampton.ac.uk/healthsciences/postgraduate/research_degrees/studentships.page

or contact:

Professor Alison Richardson:
[Email Address Removed]

or

Dr Greta Westwood, University of Southampton:
[Email Address Removed]

Interviews will be held in Southampton on 21st June 2013.