A mHealth application for chronic wound care: findings of a user trial.

This paper reports on the findings of a user trial of a mHealth application for pressure ulcer (bedsore) documentation. Pressure ulcers are a leading iatrogenic cause of death in developed countries and significantly impact quality of life for those affected. Pressure ulcers will be an increasing public health concern as the population ages.

Impact of textiles on formation and prevention of skin lesions and bedsores.

A bedsore or pressure ulcer is an area of localized damage to the skin and underlying tissue caused by pressure, shear, friction, or a combination of these factors. In countries with a large geriatric population like Canada, this healthcare threat presents a significant risk to hospitalized patients, imposing huge cost on both treatment and care for patients. The role textiles play in the formation and prevention of pressure ulcers is understudied.

Advance directives and community-dwelling older adults.

Advance directives (ADs) are documents that allow competent individuals to set forth their medical treatment wishes and/or to name a proxy in the event that they lose the capacity to communicate these decisions in the future. Despite the benefits of and support for such documents, very few people have completed an AD. This posttest-only experimental study examined whether an individualized intervention given to half of the older adults who attended an educational session increased the discussion and/or completion of ADs.