Abstract
BACKGROUND: Skin tears (ST), a type of traumatic wound commonly seen in the older adult population, are notable for the lack of data on older adults who continue their own care at home. Determining this aging-related condition, which is a risk factor for STs, is important for developing ST prevention protocols. AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of ST in older adults receiving home care. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted as a prospective cohort study with 161 older adults receiving home care from the Home Health Care Services unit of a regional hospital. Data were collected by the home health care team during home visits to older adults using the “Older Adults Information Form”, “Skin Tears Schedule”, “Mini Nutritional Assessment Short-Form”, “Braden Risk Assessment Scale”, and “AVPU Scale (alert, verbal, pain, unresponsive)”. Risk factors and skin characteristics of older adults were analyzed between older adults who developed and did not develop ST using the chi-square test, independent samples t-test, Mann-Whitney U test and binary logistic regression. RESULTS: 51.6% of older adults receiving home care were female, and the mean age was 77.06 ± 9.02. 23.0% had ST in 42 regions, and the majority of STs were type 1 (69.0%) and in the foot region (35.7%). Older adults who developed ST had less normal skin color than those who did not develop ST (p = 0.010), the majority of older adults who developed ST had decreased skin turgor (p = 0.027), and the majority of older adults who did not develop ST did not have skin bleeding problems (p = 0.002). The skin color and loss of the ability to walk independently were found to have a statistically significant contribution to the prediction of ST presence. CONCLUSION: It was determined that changes such as the skin color and loss of the ability to walk independently that develop with the aging process affect the prevalence of ST. It is recommended that home care health professionals be aware of the associated risk factors and develop strategies to prevent skin damage.