Course Description
Maintaining healthy skin and wound healing is a complex process where many factors—including nutritional status—can affect outcomes. Proper nutrition and hydration play an important role in keeping the skin healthy. Unfortunately, a majority of patients and residents do not consume adequate nutrition due to a variety of reasons including decreased appetite, which commonly results in weight loss. This patient weight loss is a key indicator of under-nutrition or malnutrition, which can be a factor in skin breakdown, decreased wound healing and increased risk of infection. Adequate nutrition is important for preventing pressure injuries and for helping wounds heal, while a balanced diet containing protein and calories is essential for building tissue.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of the course, the learner will be able to:
- Describe the components of a well-balanced diet
- Review some causes of inadequate nutrition
- Understand the importance of proper hydration
- Recognize signs of malnutrition and dehydration
- Understand how a basic tube feeding works
- Understand how nutrition contributes to the healing of wounds
- Utilize the mnemonic PEARLS, which stands for six important concepts where nutrition and wound healing intersect
Intended Audience
This educational activity was developed for nurses.
CE Information
This course is approved for 1.0 contact hours by the Florida and California State Boards of Nursing.