Outcomes in clinical practice: pressure ulcer prevalence and incidence studies.

Payors and providers are seeking strategies to reduce the number and severity of pressure ulcers, while consumer groups are demanding reporting systems that reflect the success of such strategies. Prevalence and incidence studies are a quality assurance method of monitoring the success of pressure ulcer prevention and treatment in an acute care setting. Outcomes-based practice can be a result of Continuous Quality Improvement, of which benchmarking is a powerful tool. Outcomes can be identified through epidemiologic studies and prevalence and incidence studies. To measure outcomes, it is important to consider the various members of the study team, choose an appropriate time between the prevalence and incidence studies, and design consistent methods of data collection. The goal is to be able to analyze the data in such a manner that it can be compared to data collected in other studies. Success in managing the identified and measured outcomes lies in being able to pinpoint trends, track outcomes over time, and share and compare the resulting information. Quality improvement activities are an avenue for all patient care providers to blend theory, practical experience, and research principles into more fiscally-responsible, quality-based care.