Abstract: Objective To understand the current status of pressure injury prevention and nursing practice in emergency department, clarify the gap between the current nursing practice and the standardized protocol for pressure injury prevention, and propose future research directions. Methods Purposive sampling was used to select 114 patients and 19 nurses in emergency department of a tertiary grade-B hospital in Shanghai. We chose the emergency department as the field site and collected data through non participatory observation combined with informal interviews. The data were improved through recordings and photographs. Results Nursing practice for pressure injury prevention included four themes: skin condition examination and evaluation, pressure injury risk factor assessment, pressure injury prevention measures, family members’ attitude and health education. Problems existing included the need for improvement in skin condition examination and risk assessment, inadequate implementation of pressure redistribution measures, lack of nutritional assessment and support measures, and ineffective health education. Conclusion There is a gap between pressure injury prevention and its standardized protocol in emergency department. It is necessary to conduct in-depth analysis of the barriers to implementing standardized protocols and develop effective strategies and processes for implementing pressure injury prevention measures in emergency department.

Key words: emergency department, pressure injury, field research, implementation science, prevention