Lifestyle Redesign® for Pressure Ulcer Prevention in Spinal Cord Injury
Advanced pressure ulcers are a common and medically serious complication of spinal cord injury (SCI), and are associated with extremely high treatment costs and reduced quality of life. As a means of addressing this problem, researchers in the Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy (OS/OT) at USC and Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center (RLANRC) have collaborated in an ongoing research program designed to: (1) document the lifestyle precursors of pressure ulcers; (2) develop a Lifestyle Redesign® preventive intervention; and (3) conduct a randomized clinical trial of the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the intervention. The long-term objective of this project is to identify an intervention option that can enhance the health and life quality of the population of adults with SCI while simultaneously diminishing the heavy healthcare burden that results from the problem of SCI-related pressure ulcers.
Based on a three-year field-initiated research grant awarded to OS/OT by the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research, the study team has completed the first two steps and is currently performing step 3, the randomized clinical trial (RCT).
The RCT is being conducted over a five-year period with aims to: 1) assess the Lifestyle Redesign® intervention’s ability to reduce medically serious (Stage 3 or 4) pressure ulcers and associated surgeries in adults with SCI; 2) assess the cost-effectiveness and potential cost savings of the intervention; 3) examine the intervention’s effects on participants’ quality of life; and 4) model the intervening process mechanisms that mediate the effects of the intervention.
To view the Pressure Ulcer Prevention Project manual, click here.