Pressure ulcer prevention and treatment interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review

• Published in: Nursing outlook 2024-05, Vol.72 (3), p.102151, Article 102151
• Main Authors: Zuniga, Julie, Mungai, Margaret, Chism, Lucy, Frost, Livia, Kakkar, Reha, Kyololo, O’Brien
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Sub-Saharan Africa; Wound care; Wound prevention; Wound treatment
• ISSN: 0029-6554; 1528-3968; 1528-3968
• DOI: 10.1016/j.outlook.2024.102151

The high burden of pressure ulcers (PUs) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), coupled with the limited resources, underscores the need for preventive and context-specific treatment strategies. Therefore, the purpose of this systematic review was to establish and elucidate PU prevention and treatment interventions tested in SSA. This systematic review of the literature used, PRISMA to guide the search. The review identified nine studies on PU prevention (three) and treatment (six). Low-cost interventions assembled from locally available materials and multifaceted policies significantly prevented and treated PUs. The interventions included wound dressing agents, simple negative pressure suction devices that significantly treated PUs, and water-based bed surfaces. There were gaps in the interventions that have been proven successful in other global settings. In SSA, there is a need for nurses to tailor, test, and disseminate findings from evidence-based projects for PU prevention that have been successful in similar settings. •Wound care interventions tailored to Sub-Saharan countries' resources are needed.•Water sachet bed surfaces decreased wound development.•Nonelectronic, negative pressure suction devices significantly improved wound care outcomes.