Calculate the Braden Scale score for pressure-injury risk using sensory, moisture, activity, mobility, nutrition, and friction or shear subscales.
The Braden Scale estimates pressure-injury risk by scoring six areas: sensory perception, moisture, activity, mobility, nutrition, and friction or shear.
Scores range from 6 to 23. Lower totals indicate greater risk. Keeping the subscale breakdown visible helps show which factors are driving the total rather than treating the score as a black box.
Use the Braden Scale when you want a structured pressure-injury risk check instead of relying on a general impression. It helps highlight whether mobility limits, moisture exposure, nutrition concerns, or friction and shear are the main reasons the score is low.
The score is most useful when it is paired with reassessment over time and with the broader skin and care context.
Braden Score = Sensory (1-4) + Moisture (1-4) + Activity (1-4) + Mobility (1-4) + Nutrition (1-4) + Friction/Shear (1-3) Total Range: 6-23 ≤9: Very High Risk 10-12: High Risk 13-14: Moderate Risk 15-18: Mild Risk 19-23: No Significant Risk
Result: 17/23 — Mild Risk
A patient with slightly limited sensory perception (3), occasionally moist skin (3), walks occasionally (3), slightly limited mobility (3), adequate nutrition (3), and potential friction problems (2) scores 17. That falls in the mild-risk Braden band, with friction and mobility still worth close review.
The Braden total is useful, but the six subscales often explain the risk more clearly than the sum alone. A patient can reach the same total through very different combinations of moisture, immobility, poor nutrition, or friction and shear exposure.
Overscoring is a common error, especially in the nutrition and sensory perception domains. The page is most useful when each subscale is scored from direct observation and recent clinical context rather than from assumptions.
The Braden Scale is one structured risk framework, not a complete skin-integrity assessment by itself. Device pressure, wound history, and local care standards all add context that the total score does not fully capture.
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This calculator sums the six Braden subscales exactly as the original instrument specifies: sensory perception, moisture, activity, mobility, nutrition, and friction/shear. The page reports the standard 6-23 total and groups the result into the commonly used risk bands so the score can be tied back to a prevention plan.
The result is a nursing risk-assessment aid, not a guarantee that a pressure injury will or will not occur. A low score should trigger skin-protection, mobility, nutrition, and moisture-management planning, but bedside assessment, device-related pressure risk, and local prevention protocols still matter.
That depends on the care setting, but many inpatient settings repeat the score when condition, mobility, or skin status changes.
Lower scores usually prompt closer review of mobility, moisture, nutrition, surface selection, and repositioning practices, but the exact response depends on the setting and policy.
It is most familiar in adult inpatient care. Pediatric, neonatal, and specialty settings often use modified versions or additional context.
Mobility, moisture, friction or shear, and nutrition often become the most important review areas, but the subscale pattern matters more than any single generic checklist.
No. It is a structured risk framework, not a complete skin assessment. Device pressure, wound history, and bedside findings still matter.