Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 30, 2026
Measuring Psoriasis Severity at Home
Published on: March 1, 2024
Inter-rater reliability of Glamorgan Paediatric Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment Scale
Jane Willock1, Denis Anthony, Jim Richardson
1University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd.
Insights
The Glamorgan Paediatric Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment Scale shows good reliability for identifying children at risk of pressure ulcers. This tool is reliable for clinical use in paediatric settings.
Area of Science:
- Paediatric Nursing
- Clinical Risk Assessment
- Patient Safety
Background:
- Accurate identification of children at risk of pressure ulcers is crucial for implementing preventative measures.
- Existing paediatric pressure ulcer risk assessment scales often lack robust development, relying on clinical experience or modifications of adult scales.
- The Glamorgan Paediatric Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment Scale was specifically developed using comprehensive paediatric inpatient data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the inter-rater reliability of the Glamorgan scale.
- To determine if the Glamorgan scale is suitable for routine clinical practice in paediatric care.
Main Methods:
- A study involving fifteen qualified nurses from seven paediatric wards in a tertiary referral hospital.
- Nurses collected anonymous data using the Glamorgan scale after obtaining consent from children and parents.
- Independent risk assessments by nurses and a researcher were compared using SPSS for analysis.
Main Results:
- The study assessed risk scores ranging from 15 to 34, indicating high to very high risk.
- Excellent agreement (100%) was found among raters for all assessment items.
- The only item with less than 100% agreement was 'inadequate nutrition'.
Conclusions:
- Preliminary findings suggest the Glamorgan scale is a reliable tool for paediatric pressure ulcer risk assessment.
- Further research is recommended to validate the scale across diverse paediatric populations.
- Comparative studies with other paediatric pressure ulcer risk assessment tools are warranted to establish comprehensive validity.
Unlabelled:
Children who are at risk of pressure ulcers need to be identified so that preventative measures can be taken. Most paediatric pressure ulcer risk assessment scales were developed using clinical experience, or by modifying adult scales. The Glamorgan Paediatric Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment Scale was developed using detailed paediatric inpatient data.
Aim:
To establish whether the inter-rater reliability of the Glamorgan scale was adequate for use in clinical practice.
Method:
Fifteen qualified nurses randomly selected from staff working on seven paediatric wards or units in a large tertiary referral hospital have participated in the study to date. Nurses asked permission from the children and parents in their care to collect anonymous data in the risk assessment section of the Glamorgan scale. The nurse and the researcher independently assessed the child's risk. Paired risk assessments were later compared and analysed using SPSS.
Results:
The total risk scores ranged from 15 to 34 (high to very high risk). There was 100 per cent agreement on all items except for 'inadequate nutrition'.
Conclusion:
These preliminary data indicate that the risk assessment scale is reliable. More research on the reliability and validity of this tool with specific paediatric patient groups should be carried out, ideally comparing the performance of this tool with other published paediatric pressure ulcer risk assessment tools.