To measure the total number of patients/clients with pressure ulcers at any given time, conduct a pressure ulcer prevalence survey.
Prevalence and incidence
- Prevalence is concerned with measuring the total number of individuals that have a pressure ulcer at any given time
- Pressure ulcer incidence is concerned with the number of new pressure ulcers occurring over a defined period of time
Prevalence survey
You can measure the number of patients/clients with pressure ulcers using a pressure ulcer prevalence survey. You record the number of patients/clients at any given time. This can be a specified day week or month.
This survey is not a way of measuring pressure ulcer incidence. Incidence refers to the number of new pressure ulcers which occur over a period of time.
