This tool is intended for healthcare professionals. It is an evaluation tool used and validated in clinical medicine and by healthcare professionals, to whom it gives an expert view to understand patient´s condition. A self-measurement test will not be sufficient to complete and interpret correctly these scales.
The Norton scale is based on five known risk factors for pressure sores: general fitness, physical activity, awareness, mobility and incontinence. Physicians should evaluate each of these criteria to obtain the Norton risk score.
Source :
Doreen Norton, Rhoda McLaren and A N Exton-Smith, An Investigation of Geriatric Nursing Problems in Hospital, © National Corporation for the Care of Old People (now Centre for Policy on Ageing), London, 1962.
