Sabol Submits AANP Application

Kudos to Valerie Sabol and her entire team for the submission of her American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) application entitled "Determining Repositioning Patterns of Obese Nursing Home Residents." This proposal requests funds for a one-year period with a start date of September 15, 2018.

Purpose Statement: Caring for elderly nursing home (NH) residents is a complex endeavor given the diversity of age-related concerns and chronic health conditions. Further complicating NH care is the growing population of obese residents who require additional assistance and often place a burden on equipment and resources. Obese residents are often confined to their beds and require additional staff to reposition/move them so that pressure ulcers/injuries (PrU) are not developed; one of every nine NH residents experiences a PrU during their stay. Nurse practitioners (NPs) are in a unique position to promote effective resident/staff repositioning behaviors, and establish strategies for improved repositioning outcomes among obese residents.

Relevance to Research Agenda: NPs are educated and trained to manage chronic illness in older adults. This proposal is aligned with AANP's Research Agenda (Practice Models), which seeks to `include NP providers with associated outcome measures in new practice models' by demonstrating how NPs are well-positioned to 1.) raise awareness of PrU prevention strategies among obese and non-obese NH residents (a new, patient-centered care delivery model) among all levels of staff; 2.) evaluate policy compliances in new models of resident-centered care delivery (i.e., safe-patient handling/ mobility to prevent development of PrUs); and 3.) evaluate economic outcomes of targeted PrU prevention compliance interventions among obese and non-obese residents.