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Development and Pilot Analysis of the Bruise Visibility Scale.
Katherine N Scafide1, Ghareeb Bahari2, Nesibe S Kutahyalioglu1
1College of Health and Human Services, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, United States.
SAGE Open Nursing
|August 23, 2021
Summary
The new Bruise Visibility Scale (BVS) shows promise as a reliable tool for documenting bruise appearance. It demonstrated good agreement among nurses and correlated well with objective color measurements.
Area of Science:
- Forensic science
- Medical documentation
- Clinical assessment
Background:
- Accurate injury assessment and documentation are vital for patient care and forensic evaluations.
- Objective tools are needed to standardize the assessment of injuries like bruises.
- The Bruise Visibility Scale (BVS) was developed to address this need.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the inter-rater reliability of the Bruise Visibility Scale (BVS).
- To assess the criterion validity of the BVS using colorimetry.
- To determine the potential of the BVS as a standardized tool for bruise documentation.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional pilot study involving 30 participants with bruises.
- Three experienced nurses assessed bruises using the BVS under standard examination lighting.
- Colorimetry values of bruises and surrounding skin were measured using a spectrophotometer.
Main Results:
- The BVS demonstrated good inter-rater reliability, with high single (ICC=0.71) and average (ICC=0.88) agreement.
- A moderate positive correlation (r=0.614, p<0.001) was found between BVS scores and objective color differences.
- The scale showed potential for consistent and objective bruise assessment.
Conclusions:
- The Bruise Visibility Scale (BVS) shows potential as a reliable and valid instrument.
- Further research is warranted to establish its clinical and forensic utility.
- The BVS may improve the standardization of bruise documentation in healthcare settings.
