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What is the Braden Scale?
Briefly put, the Braden Scale is an evidenced-based tool, developed by Nancy Braden and Barbara Bergstrom, that predicts the risk for developing a hospital or facility acquired pressure ulcer/injury. The Braden Scale uses a scores from less than or equal to 9 to as high as 23. The lower the number, the higher the risk for developing an acquired ulcer/injury.
19-23 = no risk
15-18 = mild risk
13-14 = moderate risk
less than 9 = severe risk
There are six categories within the Braden Scale: sensory perception, moisture, activity, mobility, nutrition, and friction/shear.
In this blog, I will be addressing sensory perception as defined by the Braden Scale, and how this is applicable to residents of a long-term care facility.
Braden Scale Scoring for Sensory Perception
Sensory perception: the ability to respond meaningfully to pressure-related discomfort.
The resident is scored on a scale of 1-4 in the categories below:
1: Completely limited
2: Very limited
3: Slightly limited
4: No impairment
Please review the Braden Scale card for a deeper definition of each of these terms. With regard to sensory perception, I want to stress the importance of assessing neuropathy in residents with diabetes, recognizing paralysis/loss of sensation with spinal cord injury (SCI) residents, and understanding how sensory perception may vary in the dementia population.
These three populations are often seen in long-term care facilities, so it’s important to understand their unique situations. Most people recognize SCI as a loss of sensory perception, but diabetic neuropathy is sometimes missed. A simple monofilament test may be used to check for sensation/neuropathy in residents with diabetes. In addition, vascular status should be assessed, including pulses on the lower extremities and capillary refill.
After assessing for neuropathy and possibly vascular issues, the definitions of the Braden Scale for each of the subcategories (1-4) should be read and understood, and an appropriate number assigned to the subcategory. A resident with paraplegia experiencing loss of sensation to the lower half of the body would automatically only score a 2 due to loss of sensation over half of the body. A resident with diabetes with some neuropathy in the feet would automatically score a 3 if they cannot feel pain or discomfort in one or more of their extremities.
The subcategory “no impairment” is very rarely accurate with the long-term care population. These residents are in the hospital, scooting up in bed, spending more time in bed, possibly wheelchair bound, have multiple pre-existing comorbidities, and usually one or more deficits. It is possible to score a 4 here, but again, rare.
The take away point here for sensory perception is to assess for neuropathy, SCI, and dementia. These residents may often be deficient in this specific category. It is important to understand the category and definitions in order to accurately score the resident. Education with nursing staff is pertinent here, and pocket cards are always helpful. Yearly competencies for long-term care staff on Braden Scale education are also helpful, along with orientation for new nurses, to be sure that the information is understood. Education by a certified wound, ostomy and continence nurse, continued support, and follow-up are needed to ensure accurate Braden Scale scores within any facility.
