Collecting pressure ulcer prevention and management outcomes: 1.

This article, the first of two parts, presents the argument that a combination of efficacy and effectiveness is required to assess fully the impact of interventions such as pressure-redistributing beds and mattresses. The methodology adopted within a multinational, multicentre, prospective, non-randomized cohort study, designed to record the occurrence and characteristics of patients vulnerable to, or with, established pressure ulcers, is described. General demographic data and the characteristics of the pressure ulcers experienced by the 2507 UK subjects recruited to the study across four UK hospitals between July 1996 and May 1998 are presented, with pressure ulcers affecting 218 subjects of whom 100 presented with ulcers on admission to hospital. Fourteen subjects developed severe ulcers, while a further 24 were admitted with full-thickness pressure ulcers. The second part of this article will report further details of the characteristics of the UK sample. Future articles will consider the subjects examined in greater detail and will also discuss the combination of this dataset with similar data collected in the USA.