The ethics of using contingency management to reduce pressure ulcers: data from an exploratory study
Adkins, V.K.; Mathewson, C.; Ayllon, T.; Jones, M.L.
Ostomy/Wound Management 45(3): 56-8 60-1
1999
ISSN/ISBN: 0889-5899 PMID: 10347520 Document Number: 504015
Although there is a widely held argument that pressure ulcers are preventable, they continue to cause major healthcare and financial problems. The blame for pressure ulcers has typically focused on the patient's self-neglect or self-destructiveness. However, more recently, there has been a call for a paradigm shift from the current "paternalistic" medical model to one that includes the patient as a participant in his or her own care. Contingency management, a procedure well known in behaviorism, is presented as one such possibility. Controversy about the use of monetary reward, as well as discussion of initial efficacy in a current study, are discussed.