Bioimpedance Spectroscopy for the Health Care Professional

Abstract

Purpose: The capstone project aimed to develop a continuing education module to educate health care providers and staff on the purpose and use of the bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) unit. The researcher also conducted a one-month clinical utility survey with the outpatient wound care team to determine if using the BIS measurement tool changed patient intervention plans. Methods: The researcher developed a continuing education training module with pre-and post-testing to assess the participants learning. A course evaluation was developed to evaluate the effectiveness of the learning module. A mixed-methods clinical utility survey was performed with the outpatient wound care center where participants completed a systems usability scale (SUS) questionnaire and participated in a one–month follow-up interview. Results: Seven subjects participated in education and demonstration training during the clinical utility survey. Four of seven participants completed the SUS questionnaire. The data revealed an above average SUS score and good learnability and usability scores. Conclusions: The module and clinical survey confirmed that health care providers found the unit easy to operate and could potentially implement BIS into their daily workload. Reported barriers to using the device include unit location, short staffing, infection control, and patient load. Despite these barriers, the wound care staff have been trained on the device's use and found BIS beneficial for lymphedema patients, chronic venous insufficiency, congestive heart failure, kidney failure, peripheral vascular disease, and post-operative wound care needs.