Incidence and Prevalence of Pressure Ulcers

D.R. Thomas and G.A. Compton (eds.), Pressure Ulcers in the Aging Population: A Guide for Clinicians, Aging Medicine 1, DOI 10.1007/978-1-62703-700-6_2, © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014 Abstract Understanding pressure ulcer epidemiology is central to understanding disease burden and to efforts to improve pressure ulcer care. A variety of measures are commonly used, including incidence, prevalence, and facility acquired rates. Each of these measures has specifi c strengths and limitations when used in assessing pressure ulcer rates. Pressure ulcer rates are highly dependent on the data source and rates calculated from one source can never be compared to rates from a different source. Estimates of pressure ulcer rates from different settings vary considerably but indicate that pressure ulcers are among the most common conditions seen in hospitalized individuals.