m facilities. Once they occur, pressure ulcers in older adults may lead to sepsis and death.
Key to preventing pressure ulcer formation û or intervening when ulcers have developed û is a thoroughgoing and regular assessment by caregivers (Teamwork: A winningà, 2002). Bick and Stephens (2003) pointed out that pressure ulcers are reported across all health care settings, affect all age groups, and are costly in terms of quality of life and health service resources. Despite advances in health technology pressures continue to be significant and challenging clinical problems.
Ayello (2003) reported that the best tool for predicting the development of pressure ulcers is the Braden Scale for Predicting Pressure Sore Risk. Clinicians typically use this tool to assess six risk areas for developing pressure ulcers: sensory perception, skin moisture, activity, mobility, nutrition, and friction/shear. Each risk area is assigned a score ranging from one (highly impaired) to three/four (no impairment). Al
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