Seating and pressure support needs of people with cancer in the cervix or rectum: a case series on the clinical usefulness of pressure mapping assessment

Pressure sores present a challenge to people with rectal and cervical cancers due to weight loss, compromised nutrition, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Affected individuals often experience intense pain on sitting, and prefer to spend the majority of their time lying down. This pilot study, employing a case study design, investigated the pressure care needs of such persons using pressure mapping, a technology designed to measure pressures at the seating interface. Four participants were mapped on a selection of five cushions, three of which were developed to specifically reduce midline posterior pressure/pain relief. Participants rated the cushions for comfort. Findings demonstrated an inconsistent relationship between interface pressures and perceived cushion comfort, suggesting that patient-rated comfort is a poor indicator of high interface pressures. The specialized cushions did not always meet the needs of this target population and no one cushion suited all. This study demonstrated the precarious clinical balance needed between comfort and achieving optimal pressure reduction in cushion prescription for this client group, and suggested that comfort was more important than pressure reduction in terms of their seating needs.