Dry skin and the use of leave-on products in nursing care: A prevalence study in nursing homes and hospitals.
Anna Lechner, Nils Lahmann, Andrea Lichterfeld-Kottner and 3 others
PMID 30534408WHAT IT FOUND
Dry skin affected 41.2% of nursing home residents and 55.2% of hospital patients.
Creams or ointments were applied to 87.7% of residents and 32.0% of patients, more often when dry skin was present.
Key findings
01Dry skin affected 41.2% of nursing home residents and 55.2% of hospital patients, and legs and feet were most often affected.
02Among skincare-dependent participants, dry skin overall was 43.7% in nursing homes and 70.2% in hospitals.
03Leave-on products, such as creams or ointments, were applied to 87.7% of nursing home residents and 32.0% of hospital patients, and use was higher when dry skin was present.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Institutions and people volunteered, so the samples may not represent all German nursing homes and hospitals. The study measured only whether leave-on products were applied, not whether they were the right product, quantity, or effective. Because it was a one-day cross-sectional survey, it cannot show that leave-on products caused or prevented dry skin. Nurses' dry-skin ratings were not checked for agreement between assessors. More skincare activity data were missing for hospital patients than for nursing home residents.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that applying creams or ointments improves dry skin. The study was cross-sectional and only recorded what was applied, not whether it was suitable or effective.