Seating industry veteran Sharon Sonenblum, Ph.D., is leading a new project to develop a pressure injury assessment tool.

In a June 6 bulletin sent out by the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel (NPIAP), Sonenblum — who described herself as “a researcher at Georgia Tech and an alumnus of the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel, with nearly 20 years of experience in studying wheelchair seating and pressure injuries” — said the tool will be designed for seating clinicians.

“This tool will initially be designed for clinicians to use when assessing wheelchair users who present with a pressure injury, in order to understand the contributing factors and determine the most important interventions,” Sonenblum said in the announcement. “We are looking to collect assessment tools or lists of questions used by experts like you to understand the root cause of pressure injuries in clients.

“These questions would be the ones you ask when evaluating someone who presents with a pressure injury to help you determine a plan of care. Our aim is to create a tool that is based on expert consensus and can be used by novice and expert clinicians alike, (e.g., WOCNs [Wound, Ostomy & Continence nurses], primary care providers, seating clinicians, etc.) when assessing a wheelchair user with a pressure injury in order to suggest evidence-based interventions that are associated with the specific factors that contributed to the individual’s pressure injury.”

Sonenblum is asking seating specialists to send in the questions they ask and/or the tools they use in clinic by Fri., June 16.

“We assure you that all questions will be integrated into a larger list for consideration, and we will not share your specific tool with anyone without your permission,” Sonenblum noted.

Send your questions/tools to SCRG@me.gatech.edu. “Please let us know if you would like to be contacted for evaluation of the tool later in the project,” Sonenblum added.