title: The development of a national registration form to measure the prevalence of pressure ulcers in The Netherlands.
abstract: To gain insight into the prevalence of pressure ulcers in Dutch healthcare institutions, a national registration form to measure the prevalence of pressure ulcers annually in different healthcare settings was developed based on a literature study and responses from a Delphi panel. The reliability and the feasibility of the form devised were tested in a pilot study conducted in a university hospital, a nursing home, and in a home healthcare setting. Interrater reliability of the grading system varied between the institutions from 0.49 to 0.97 (Cohen's Kappa). In the home healthcare setting, interrater reliability was 0.80 (Pearson correlation coefficient) for the total score on the Braden scale. The prevalence rates were 10.1% (n = 368) in the university hospital, 12.7% (n = 1,541) in the home healthcare setting, and 83.6% (n = 122) in the nursing home, although the latter figure seemed to be somewhat exaggerated. The most common lesions were found on the sacrum and below the knee (heel and malleolus). The pilot study concluded that it is possible to collect accurate and reliable data on the scope and severity of pressure ulcers with a uniform instrument in different healthcare settings.
authors.affiliation: Maastricht University, Department of Nursing Science, The Netherlands. G.Bours@zw.unimaas.nl
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Bours
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Halfens
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lubbers
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Haalboom
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003625:Data Collection / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004282:Documentation / Q000592:standards*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005568:Forms and Records Control; D006699:Home Care Services; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D009735:Nursing Homes; D015588:Observer Variation; D010865:Pilot Projects; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D015995:Prevalence; D016730:Program Development; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D012042:Registries; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index