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Striving to prevent falls in an acute care setting — action to enhance quality
Author(s) -
MITCHELL ANN,
JONES NEVILLE
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of clinical nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1365-2702
pISSN - 0962-1067
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2702.1996.tb00254.x
Subject(s) - action (physics) , quality (philosophy) , medicine , acute care , nursing , medline , medical emergency , intensive care medicine , health care , political science , philosophy , physics , epistemology , quantum mechanics , law
Summary• Although most falls do not result in serious physical injury, they can contribute to a loss of confidence and mobility which can culminate in a significant reduction in quality of life. Furthermore, the potential to fall is often increased when an individual is institutionalized because of frailty or confusion. • The purpose of the study was, therefore, to establish whether a structured intervention would assist in preventing falls in an acute setting. • This pre‐test/post‐test study was carried out over a 12‐month period. Interventions included risk assessment, an alert system, reinforcing preventive actions, staff education and ongoing audits and feedback. Initial analysis of the data and comparison of fall rates indicated a significant reduction in the rate of falls between the pre‐ and post‐intervention phases, although subsequent statistical analysis did not identify any significant relationships. • It must be noted that no controls existed for extraneous variables, although patient profiles varied minimally during the period of the study. • Outcomes include: a reduction in fall numbers and rates, enhanced staff morale with ownership of the programme, provision of a learning experience for staff (on which to build), and the fostering of a professional approach to improving the quality of patient care.