Commentary on Vermeulen H, Ubbink DT, Schreuder SM and Lubbers MJ (2007) Inter- and intra-observer (dis)agreement among nurses and doctors to classify colour and exudation of open surgical wounds according to the Red-Yellow-Black scheme. Journal of Clinical Nursing16, 1270-1277 and Sugama J, Matsui Y, Sanada H, Konya C, Okuwa M and Kitagawa A (2007) A study of the efficiency and convenience of an advanced portable wound measurement system (VISITRAK). Journal of Clinical Nursing 16, 1265-1269.

摘要

This commentary focuses on two papers reporting evaluations of assessment tools used with chronic wounds. The main outcomes in this type of research are reliability and validity, Reliability is the degree to which repeated measurements of a stable characteristic produce similar results. This can involve repeated measurements performed by the same * individual (intra-rater reliability) dr by different individuals (inter-rater reliability) (Fletcher et al, 1996). Validity or accuracy can be defined as the extent to which the data measure what they are intended to measure, Determination of validity is usually accomplished by comparing the measurement against a reference standard.. In fields where there is no accepted reference standard, assessment may focus on the level of agreement between competing methods (Bland & Altman 1986). Other relevant outcomes include feasibility (the practicality of use of an assessment tool) (Brazier et al. 1999), and the ability of data generated by the instrument to predictan eventual, clinically meaningful outcome, such as complete healing of the wound (Kantor & Margolis 2000).