Risk assessment scale for pressure ulcers in pediatric patients: French translation, internal consistency, convergent validity, feasibility, and clinical utility of the Braden QD Scale

Introduction: Pediatric patients are particularly vulnerable to pressure ulcers. Structured evaluation with a risk assessment tool is recommended in order to identify patients at risk. The Braden QD Scale integrates the risks of both immobility-related and medical device-related pressure ulcers in pediatric patients.

Objectives: To translate and pretest the Braden QD Scale into French (Swiss-French version), and to evaluate its consistency, convergent validity, feasibility, and clinical utility.

Method: Over five prevalence surveys, the Braden QD Scale was used on all hospitalized pediatric patients. Convergent validity and internal consistency were tested. A self-administered questionnaire on feasibility and clinical utility was completed by nurses.

Results: The translated version of the Braden QD Scale was pretested on 352 children. The prevalence surveys showed that 5.1% were at risk of developing pressure ulcers. Medical devices were present in 85.8% of cases. A Cronbach's alpha of 0.710 and a high convergent validity were measured. High scores of feasibility and clinical utility were found.

Discussion and conclusion: This study suggests that the Swiss-French version of the Braden QD Scale is reliable, valid, feasible, and has clinical utility.