A Pilot Study of the Diagnosis and Treatment of Impaired Skin Integrity: Dry Skin in Older Persons

A pilot study was conducted to isolate the clinical indicators of dry skin in the elderly, test an instrument used to measure dry skin, analyze the importance of factors thought to contribute to dry skin, test the effectiveness of an intervention for treating dry skin, and determine the feasibility of clinical implementation of the protocol. The sample included 15 elderly long-term care residents with a nursing and medical diagnosis of dry skin. Although the small sample size limits interpretation of findings, there is some evidence that scaling and flaking may be indicators of skin dryness. Subjects received the bathing intervention for 6 weeks and were assessed every 2 weeks during the 6-week periods before, during, and after intervention (nine data collection points). Analysis of the nine repeated measures of skin dryness indicated significantly reduced total dryness (p= 031), redness (p=.001), scaling (p=.007), and flaking (p=.002) over time. Post hoc comparisons, interrater agreement on the Skin Condition Data Form, and categorical variables were analyzed. Findings from this study will be used to generate further hypotheses.