úlceras por presión en personas con lesión medular: conocimiento de familiares y cuidadores

purpose: to assess knowledge of risk factors and prevention of pressure ulcers from the perspective of relatives and caregivers of patients with spinal cord injury at home. method: cross-sectional, descriptive, quantitative study. the sample was made up by 50 people. data were collected through a questionnaire in august and december 2008. the statistical analysis was performed using spss windows, version 13.0. results: we found that family caregivers have correct knowledge about its role in the prevention, 80% of cases and higher risk patients are bedridden, paraplegic and elderly (74%); patients and relatives should be counseled about the risk factors of pressure ulcers (100%); keeping the skin dry and clean prevents the onset of up (64%). with regard to cognitive errors, these are related to the periodicity in assessing the integrity of the skin (84%) and the use of sheets in the transfer and mobilization of the patient (80%). discussion: the high success rate on risk factors shows that families and caregivers have good knowledge: they are prepared to care, meanwhile, the high incidence of errors on pressure ulcers prevention measures shows that relatives and caregivers lack of adequate knowledge of such measures. conclusions: research shows that assessing the knowledge of relatives and caregivers is of the essence to implement corrective actions to suit them to take care of people with spinal cord injury