Risk assessment scales for pressure ulcers: A methodological review

Much is written about risk-assessment scales (RASs) for pressure ulcers (PU) and their properties demonstrating that they are of limited value. Less is known about the reasons for these limitations and the scope for improvement. This review examines issues such as structure and scoring for the Norton, Waterlow and Braden scales, showing that the equal-weighting technique behind the current RASs is too simplistic and leads to limitations. It concludes that properly trained, experienced nurses should conduct PU risk assessments, whilst more robust data-driven RASs should be developed using the differential weighting scoring method together with advanced statistical techniques.