Title : Beyond the mattress: Improving real-life outcomes through smarter support surface selection
Abstract:
Pressure injuries can have a profound impact on a person's life, affecting comfort, sleep, independence, participation, dignity and overall quality of life. They are also associated with prolonged hospital admissions, significant healthcare costs and increased demands on health services. While support surfaces are an essential component of prevention and management, improving outcomes requires far more than selecting a mattress based on pressure injury risk or stage alone.
This presentation explores how evidence-informed, person-centred support surface selection can improve real-life outcomes through structured clinical reasoning. Through real-world case studies and live demonstrations of high-specification foam, hybrid and alternating pressure support surfaces, attendees will explore the clinical benefits of key design features and learn how these influence support surface selection based on an individual's pressure injury risk, mobility, functional goals, transfer methods, repositioning needs, care environment and available supports. Practical demonstrations will illustrate how support surface design, pressure redistribution and bed positioning work together to support clinical decision-making.
Rather than focusing on equipment features alone, the session will demonstrate a practical framework for selecting and evaluating support surfaces that balances pressure redistribution with functional outcomes, occupational performance and quality of life. Interactive quizzes will encourage audience participation throughout the session, while attendees will also be guided through an innovative digital clinical reasoning tool that supports a structured approach to support surface assessment and prescription. The demonstration will show how clinicians can systematically consider person, environment and occupational factors when navigating an increasingly complex support surface landscape.
Attendees will leave with practical strategies to strengthen their clinical reasoning, confidently compare support surface technologies and apply evidence in everyday practice. Ultimately, the session aims to demonstrate how an individualised, person-centred approach to support surface selection can improve the real-life outcomes that matter most to people through greater comfort, function, participation and quality of life.
