Introduction:

Patient safety in the healthcare system is a priority and a fundamental principle of health care. Pressure ulcers, which in most cases are avoidable, are considered the first adverse event related to nursing care.

Objectives:

To understand the observations of different healthcare professionals on the severity of pressure ulcers as an adverse event.

Methods:

A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out in January 2016 amongst healthcare personnel from different workplaces, mainly in Spain and Andorra. An online survey was administered by the ad hoc investigators for the collection of data with sociodemographic variables, experience and scope of work and the different items in which it was intended to know their opinion on the importance of three adverse effects: pressure ulcers, falls and phlebitis.

Results:

459 professionals participated: 71.24% nurses, 14.81% doctors and 13.95% nursing assistant. 87.7% considered pressure ulcers as a serious adverse event, with nurses being the group that considered this effect as more serious. For the prevention of these injuries, 97.8% affirmed the evidence of their avoidability. No association was observed on the importance and consequences of pressure ulcers as an adverse event, between the profession and opinion variables.

Conclusions:

Respondents considered pressure ulcers to be the most serious adverse event among nursing care and considered, moreover, that they can be prevented.

        · resumen en Español     · texto en Español     · Español ( pdf )