University Centre forNursing and Midwifery

project

A systematic review of the measurement properties of skin tear classification systems

project duration: 01/06/2019 - 01/01/2020

The objective of this review was to critically appraise, compare and summarise the quality of the measurement properties of available skin tear classifications. Five skin tear classification systems exist, of which only two have been psychometrically tested. Evidence of very low to moderate quality exists on their measurement properties. To date, the ISTAP classification is the most commonly evaluated system with moderate quality evidence to support its reliability, measurement error and criterion validity. More well-designed, rigorously conducted and adequately reported studies, using representative samples, appropriate statistical methods and direct skin observations, are needed to make confident conclusions.

promotor

Prof. dr. Dimitri Beeckman
Prof. dr. Dimitri Beeckman

Prof. dr. Dimitri Beeckman holds a BSc. in Nursing, an MSc. in Nursing and Midwifery, an MSc. in Education, and a PhD from Ghent University in Belgium. His doctoral thesis focused on pressure ulcer prevention and management of Incontinence- Associated Dermatitis (IAD). In 2010, he became a lecturer at the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing & Midwifery at King’s College London in the UK. Currently, he works as a Professor of Skin Integrity and Clinical Nursing at the University Centre of Nursing and Midwifery at Ghent University in Belgium. He is a Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Surrey (Guilford, UK) and at the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (Dublin, Ireland). Prof. Beeckman is Executive Board Member of the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP) and serves as Chair of the Scientific Committee since 2013. He also co- chairs the EPUAP Education Workstream. In 2016, he was a member of the International Scientific Committee of the World Union of Wound Healing Societies Conference. In March 2017, he chaired the 1st European Pressure Ulcer Prevention and Management Masterclass in Ghent. He is specialized in skin integrity research, clinical trials, healthcare education, implementation science and instrument development and validation. In 2013-2014, he authored the Belgian guidelines for pressure ulcer prevention and treatment (supported by the Belgian Healthcare Knowledge Centre, KCE). In 2015, he authored the International Best Practice Document about prevention and management of Incontinence- Associated Dermatitis, published by Wounds International. He acts as policy advisor of the Belgian Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety, and Environment. He authored and co- authored over 80 scientific publications in international peer- reviewed journals. He presented his research in > 50 countries all over the world. He is Consulting Editor of the Journal of Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing, the Journal of Tissue Viability, as well as Associate Editor of BMC Geriatrics. Prof. Beeckman holds different Fellowships such as Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing and the European Academy of Nursing Science.

staff members

Hanne Van Tiggelen
Hanne Van Tiggelen

Hanne Van Tiggelen (MSc, OT) is a PhD student at the University Centre of Nursing and Midwifery. She holds a BSc. in Occupational Therapy (2014) and a MSc. in Health Care Management and Policy (2016)​. Her PhD focuses on the prevention of pressure ulcers and skin tears. Previously, Hanne worked as an occupational therapist at Rehabilitation Hospital RevArte.