| Abstract: | This is a longitudinal study of the trend and seasonality in unit‐level hospital‐acquired pressure ulcer (HAPU) rates from 2004 to 2011, for 5447 acute care nursing units in 733 US hospitals. Unit‐level HAPU rates decreased significantly during 2004–2007 (OR = 0.91, 95% CI [0.90, 0.91]) and the decreasing trend was much stronger during 2008–2011 (OR = 0.84 [0.83, 0.85]). Seasonal variations in HAPU rates were strong and consistent during 2004–2008, with the highest HAPU rate in Quarter 1 (Jan–Mar) and the lowest rate in Quarter 3 (Jul–Sep). During 2009–2011, the magnitude of this seasonality was greatly reduced, and only HAPU rate in Quarter 1 remained significantly higher than HAPU rates in other quarters. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 36:171–180, 2013 |
