Prevalence of key care indicators of pressure injuries, incontinence, malnutrition, and falls among older adults living in nursing homes in New Zealand

Abstract

Pressure injuries, incontinence, malnutrition, and falls are important indicators of the quality of care in healthcare settings, particularly among older people, but there is limited information on their prevalence in New Zealand (NZ). The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of these four problems among older people in nursing home facilities. The cross-sectional study was an analysis of data collected on a single day for the 2016 National Care Indicators Programme-New Zealand (NCIP-NZ). The sample included 276 people ages 65 and older who were residents in 13 nursing home facilities in a geographically diverse area of central NZ. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Prevalence rates in these nursing home settings was pressure injuries 8%; urinary incontinence 57%; fecal incontinence 26%; malnutrition 20%, and falls 13%, of which half resulted in injuries. As people age, complex health issues can lead to increasing care dependency and more debilitating and costly health problems. Measuring the prevalence of basic care problems in NZ healthcare organizations and contributing to a NZ database can enable monitoring of the effectiveness of national and international guidelines.

Keywords: falls; incontinence; malnutrition; pressure injury; prevalence; quality and safety.