Incontinence associated dermatitis (IAD) is a skin condition that occurs from prolonged exposure
to urinary or fecal incontinence. Prevalence of IAD in the acute setting ranges from 18-95% and
contributes to inflammation, pain, and increases risk of developing hospital acquired pressure
injuries (HAPIs). There are deviations in evidence-based practice and management among
healthcare professionals leading to misdiagnosis, improper IAD treatment, and HAPI
development. This doctoral project examines the impact of enhancing nursing knowledge of IAD
to reduce HAPIs using a pre- and post-implementation design. A convenience sample of 45
nurses, on a 34-bed Progressive Care Unit at an acute care facility in Southern California,
participated in an IAD educational module to assess a change in nursing knowledge. The IAD
education used two validated tools the Ghent Global IAD categorization tool (GLOBAID) and
Knowledge Instrument on Incontinence-Associated Dermatitis for Clinicians (KNOW-IAD) to
measure IAD etiology, classification, and management knowledge. Monthly and quarterly
surveillance data of HAPI occurrence and incontinence incidence were collected. Participant
scores resulted in an overall increase in nurse IAD knowledge while concurrently decreasing
HAPIs with 62.5% of patients having incontinence (p < .001). Zero monthly HAPI’s were noted
four of the five months post-implementation, as well as on the next two consecutive prevalence
studies. Expanding the education hospital wide and providing education annually will increase
generalizability and streamline the implementation of IAD education. Nurse-driven IAD
educational modules are effective in improving nursing knowledge of IAD and aid in reducing
HAPI incidence.