Bedsore prevention was not given priority in the 'benchmarks' used to grade nursing effectiveness and insufficient care and attention was devoted to ensuring that nurses followed standardized preventative procedures. Nurses themselves cited many perceived barriers to being able to take full precautions, including a lack of time, having to work long shifts and being over-tired, and a lack of emphasis on such routine patient care overall. An important implication of this study is that nursing knowledge does not automatically translate into effective nursing practice. It also shows that an intellectual awareness of the seriousness of a health problem such as bedsores likewise does not cause a behavioral change unless there are radical changes in the nursing environment as a whole, and implementation must be supported on a holistic level. Overburdened nurses face obstacles...

An increase in the risk of pressure ulcers is a symptom of wider, systemic problems within healthcare.
Work Cited

Moore Z, Price P. (2004). Nurses' attitudes, behaviors and perceived barriers towards pressure ulcer prevention. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 13 (8):942 -- 952.

Retrieved December 17, 2010. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2004.00972.x.