UDP Focus: Connecting the Dots

Physical chemist uncovers nanoparticle behavior

Undergraduate Scholar: A Novel Experience

Student’s narrative map brings Spanish story to life

Balancing Act: Sustaining Our Future Across Disciplines

A farmer in western Kansas worries his well will be dry in 30 years. More than 9 million tons of clothing — some items only worn once — go to U.S. landfills each year. Globally, 79% of all consumer plastics end up in landfills or as litter and can take hundreds of years to decompose. These are a fraction of the sustainability challenges the world faces. If current behaviors and practices are left unchanged, experts say the consequences to our livelihoods and for the environment are bleak. But all is not lost: A variety of measures and practices can help overcome these challenges. Kansas State University researchers are working across disciplines to engage in sustainability, which meets today’s needs without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same. It’s a balancing act

Cause or Effect: How Researchers are Analyzing Misinformation

It is easier than ever to produce and consume information — it just requires a scroll, swipe or click. Information is at our fingertips every hour of every day

Implementing best available evidence into practice for incontinence-associated dermatitis in Australia: A multisite multimethod study protocol

AimsIncontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) is an insidious and under-reported hospital-acquired complication which substantially impacts on patients’ quality of life. A published international guideline and the Ghent Global IAD Categorisation Tool (GLOBIAD) outline the best available evidence for the optimal management of IAD. This study aims to implement theguideline and the GLOBIAD tool and evaluate the effect on IAD occurrences and sacral pressure injuries as well as patient, clinician and cost-effectiveness outcomes.Materials and methodsThe study will employ a multi-method design across six hospitals in five health districts in Australia, and will be conducted in three phases (pre-implementation, implementation and post-implementation) over 19 months. Data collection will involve IAD and pressure injury prevalence audits for patient hospital admissions, focus groups with, and surveys of, clinicians, patient interviews, and collection of the cost of IAD hospital care and patient-related outcomes including quality of life. Eligible participants will be hospitalised adults over 18 years of age experiencing incontinence, and clinicians working in the study wards will be invited to participate in focus groups and surveys.ConclusionThe implementation of health district-wide evidence-based practices for IAD using a translational research approach that engages key stakeholders will allow the standardisation of IAD care that can potentially be applicable to a range of settings. Knowledge gained will inform future practice change in patient care and health service delivery and improve the quality of care for patients with IAD. Support at the hospital, state and national levels, coupled with a refined stakeholder-inclusive strategy, will enhance this project's success, sustainability and scalability beyond this existing project

Impact of an evidence-based bundle on incontinence-associated dermatitis prevalence in hospital patients:A quasi-experimental translational study

IntroductionPurposeTo evaluate the effect of an intervention on the prevalence and severity of incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) in six hospitals in one state in Australia.MethodsThis quasi-experimental pre-and-post study was conducted in 18 wards. Skin and incontinence assessments were conducted on patients during February and March 2020 (pre-intervention) and July and August 2021 (post-intervention). The intervention comprised continence assessment and management tools, a patient education brochure on IAD, the Ghent Global IAD Categorisation Tool (GLOBIAD), and a skin care regime with patient skin protection measures (three-in-one barrier cream cloths, minimisation of bed protection layers, use of appropriate continence pad).ResultsA total of 1897 patients were assessed; 964 in the pre-intervention period and 933 patients in the post-intervention period. Of these, 343 (35.6%) patients in the pre-intervention period and 351 (37.6%) patients in the post-intervention period had incontinence. The prevalence of hospital-acquired IAD was 6.71% in the pre-intervention group and 4.27% in the post-intervention group. Hospital-acquired IAD prevalence reduced by 36.3% (p-value=X) despite higher patient acuity and prevalence of double incontinence in the post-intervention group compared with the pre-intervention group

Clinician Knowledge of Incontinence-Associated Dermatitis: A Multisite Survey of Healthcare Professionals in Acute and Subacute Settings

PURPOSE: This study examined clinicians' knowledge of incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) using the Barakat-Johnson Incontinence-Associated Dermatitis Knowledge Tool (Know-IAD).DESIGN: A cross-sectional multicenter survey.SUBJECTS AND SETTING: The setting was 6 hospitals across 5 health districts in New South Wales, Australia. The participants were nurses (registered nurses and enrolled nurses), physicians, allied health (occupational therapists, dietitians, and physiotherapists), and students (nursing and allied health).METHODS: Data about IAD knowledge were collected from November 2019 to January 2020. The Know-IAD, an 18-item validated instrument that measures knowledge of IAD in 3 domains (etiology and risk, classification and diagnosis, and prevention and management), was administered to a cross section of eligible clinicians. The participants anonymously completed hard copy surveys. Descriptive and exploratory analyses were conducted to quantify clinicians' knowledge about the etiology and risk, classification and diagnosis, and prevention and management of IAD. A mean knowledge score of 70% was considered to be satisfactory.RESULTS: Four hundred twelve respondents completed the survey. One hundred twenty nine respondents (31.3%) achieved 70% correct responses and greater for the entire set of items. For the etiology and risk domain, 348 respondents (84.5%) obtained a score of 70% correct responses and greater, 67 respondents (16.3%) achieved 70% correct responses and greater for the classification and diagnosis domain, and 84 respondents (20.4%) achieved 70% correct responses and greater for the prevention and management domain.CONCLUSION: Clinicians tend to have low knowledge and recognition of IAD, particularly in the areas of classification and diagnosis along with prevention and management. They tend to have higher knowledge of how IAD is caused and the risk factors. This study has identified knowledge gaps for further education that can improve assessment, prevention, and management of IAD