Evidence-based management of stage 2 pressure injuries in country-specific context

Background The prevalence of pressure injuries (PI) among hospitalized adults worldwide remains high, posing a serious challenge to global healthcare systems. In China, the scarcity of specialized wound care nurses often leads to the suboptimal management of stage 2 PI by general nursing staff. Therefore, enhancing the wound management capabilities of these non-specialist nurses is crucial for improving healing rates and patient outcomes. This study aimed to systematically summarize the best evidence for stage 2 PI wound management and develop a standardized, evidence-based practice protocol for clinical nurses. Method We employed an evidence-based continuous quality improvement model, which comprised four phases: evidence gathering, baseline review, evidence introduction, and effectiveness evaluation. The study was conducted in a tertiary hospital in China, involving 80 skin liaison nurses and 70 patients with stage 2 PI. Results Following the implementation of the evidence-based strategy, nurses’ PI knowledge scores (PZ-PUKT) significantly increased from 53.31 ± 4.75 to 56.29 ± 4.72 ( p < 0.01). The implementation rate of key review indicators improved markedly, with some increasing from 0 to 100%. Patient outcomes also improved significantly, as evidenced by reduced PUSH scores ( p < 0.05), lower pain scores (VAS), and higher wound healing rates in the intervention group. Discussion Research findings indicate that structured, evidence-based nursing strategies significantly enhance nurses’ understanding and implementation of best practices, thereby accelerating wound healing and alleviating patient pain. This study provides a feasible model for implementing standardized stage 2 PI care in resource-limited healthcare settings and lays the groundwork for future multicenter research on intelligent nursing interventions.